The Vampires Lovely Assistant
by toboelily
Summary: Done many times. But I have not found a story told the way I liked it. So I am telling it now. My "Darren" is a OC girl named Lily, who is growing faster mentally than physically. Possible pairings based on popular demand.
1. Chapter 1 Cirque Du Freak

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak in any way.

Back to the run down theatre from barely a week ago. It was still very cold outside and I could see my breath in the air. Why am I here? Maybe I should start from the beginning here. I sometimes get ahead of myself when I talk.

About a week ago my best friend Stephanie and I snuck out of our houses to go see a freak show playing live in our city. It's called the Cirque Du Freak. We were standing in the same spot I am in right now. The show was fascinating. There was a man who actually had two stomachs, and a woman whose teeth could cut through anything. But the one performance that I was here to see was the one that later made me wish I had never seen the show.

The one I am talking about here is Mr. Crepsley and his performing spider Madame Octa.

I really like spiders. No. Scratch that. I really LOVE spiders! See, some people love things like football or like an animal of some sort. I love spiders. I have always thought they were cool. The way they crawl and move their eight legs. It's creepy to watch, but I like scary things like that.

So when I saw the biggest spider I had ever seen, performing neat tricks, I lost my mind. I wanted a spider just like Madame Octa! I was ecstatic about the thought of it.

Stephanie on the other hand, looked, terrified. She couldn't be afraid of the spider. That was one of the reasons I really liked having her as my best friend. Nothing seemed to scare her. But the more I watched her, the more pale and sweaty she got. It had to be Mr. Crepsley. There was nothing I could see that was wrong with him. He was a bit creepy looking and he had a long scar down one of his cheeks that made him look like he had a permanent smile. But something about him unnerved Stephanie.

After the show as we were leaving Stephanie suddenly turned to me and told me to go home without her. She then disappeared in the crowd.

When I followed her I found her talking to Mr. Crepsley. She told him that she knew who he really was. That he was actually a vampire named Vur Horston. I thought she had lost it. That maybe this was the result of too many monster movies and books.

But Mr. Crepsley or Vur Horston confirmed this. Now I was beginning to think maybe _I_ was crazy.

Then Stephanie asked him to make _her _into a vampire too. A half-vampire. She wanted to be his assistant. She told him that she hated her life and that if she were to go with him, her mother probably wouldn't even notice her absence.

I admit I was shocked. I had no idea that she really hated her life this much. All the time we spent together, I thought we were having fun. She is my best friend, and I seem to barely know her.

But when Mr. Crepsley went to "test" her blood, he spat it out. He told her that he could never blood her. That she was evil and had bad blood.

Not wanting to hear any more I ran. Ran all the way home. I didn't actually stop until I had reached my front door. How could he say such a thing about her like that? He didn't know her.

--

The next day at school, Stephanie came to class late. When she looked at me, something told me that she was under the impression that I had heard everything. Which I had. But there was no way she could have known that. When we were telling our friends about the show one of our friends had asked how Mr. Crepsley had controlled the spider. Stephanie had said that it was telepathy. That anyone could control her. And when she said that I knew that I had to have Madame Octa.

So that night I snuck out again, back to the theatre, and stole Madame Octa. I left a note telling Mr. Crepsley not to come looking for me or I would reveal to the authorities what he actually was. After the first night, when I found that the spider was still in my possession, I was relieved.

Back at school Stephanie was still suspicious of me. I started to avoid her. I didn't want to slip up and reveal that I actually had heard everything. That Mr. Crepsley had said she was evil. I still didn't believe it but I was ashamed to have heard it.

For the next few days I avoided her until she cornered me on my way home. And as I predicted, I slipped up. She wanted to know if I had heard anything that Vur Horston had said. I told her that I didn't know about whatever had happened between her and Mr. Crepsley. She had not said Mr. Crepsley.

So I came clean. And to my surprise, we both ended up crying and forgave each other. We must have sat there for a good ten minutes before I got an idea. I wanted to show her Madame Octa. So I did. I was showing her a few tricks I could perform with her. I made Madame Octa crawl up her arm. When I was about to make her climb on to Stephanie's head, my little brother walked in, and I was distracted. Madame Octa bit Stephanie. She _bit_ her! Madame Octa, as intelligent and fascinating as she was, was a venomous spider. I made her go back into her cage and slammed the door shut, locking her inside.

I made my brother promise that he would not tell anyone. I told him to go and tell mom to call an ambulance. I looked down at the spider sitting in her cage. I was angry. I picked up the cage and threw it as hard as I could out my open window. I thought she was going to fall and crash to the ground. But a hand appeared out of nowhere and caught the cage. The hand belonged to none other than Mr. Crepsley. He checked to see if the spider was alright, then looked straight at me, smiled, and disappeared into the darkness.

At the hospital, the doctors couldn't find a cure for her. She didn't have much time to live. But I knew someone who could help. So when we got home, I waited for my parents to go to bed, and snuck out again. Back to the theatre for the third time.

So here I stand. Trying to build up the courage to walk in. I know he's waiting in there for me. I can feel it. And I'm sure he can feel me out here.

Gritting my teeth, more out of fear than the cold, I wrap my coat tighter around myself, and walk towards the front door of the run down theatre.

_AN: So about the title, it is like when you watch a magic show and the assistant is a woman, the magician will say "My lovely assistant, (insert name here)!" So that is where the title comes from. That is what I do with it. And you will have to learn her name in the next chapter. Now you can hate. :3_


	2. Chapter 2 A Nasty Business

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

Before I left the house I grabbed my mom's cross necklace, and on my way over I had found a limb from a small tree that was pointed at one end. The necklace I held in my hands at all times. The limb I hid in the sleeve of my coat. It was forcing me to keep my arm straight because of the length.

I had to hop the tall iron gate because it was locked, and wound up ripping my school uniform. The gash went from the hem of the skirt half-way up on the left. I hadn't drawn any blood, but there was still a dark pink line showing where I'd faltered.

After entering the front door, it took me a while to find the cellar, where I had stolen Madame Octa. I started down the stairs, in total darkness. I had to feel around like a mole. But the further down I went the brighter it got. When I reached the bottom I found five tall glowing candles . None other than Mr. Crepsley, sat waiting for me across the cellar. He was sitting at a small table playing a game of cards by himself.

"Good morning." He said without looking up.

"It's the middle of the night." I replied.

"To me, that is morning." He said before looking up at me, grinning.

"You've been waiting for me haven't you?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"How long have you known where Madame Octa was?"

"I found her on the night you stole her."He said.

"Why didn't you take her then?"

He shrugged. "I was going to, but got to thinking about the sort of girl who would dare steal from a vampire, and I decided you might be worth further study."

"Why?" I asked starting to shake.

"Why indeed?" He said mockingly. He snapped his fingers, making me jump, and the cards on the table jumped together and back into the pack by themselves. He put it away and cracked his knuckles. "Tell me, Lily Shan, why have you come? Is it to steal from me again? Do you still desire Madame Octa?"

I shook my head glaring. "I never want to see that monster again." I growled.

He only laughed. "She will be so sad to hear that."

"Don't make fun of me," I said angrily. "I don't like being teased." I had received more than enough of that at school.

"No?" He asked. "And what will you do if I continue?"

I lifted my hand to show him the necklace. It was a cross, and I was expecting him to shrink away in fear. But he didn't. Instead he smiled, snapped his fingers, and the cross flew from my hand into his!

He stared at it for a few seconds before crushing it into a tiny metal ball in the palm of his hand, as if it were tin foil.

I stared blankly for a few seconds. Then I pulled the sharpened limb from my sleeve and raised it threateningly. Keeping both hands firmly wrapped around it.

Again, instead of shrinking away, he only sighed. Then he disappeared! Wrenched from my hands so fast that I only realized after everything had happened.

The next thing I knew the stick was gone and my hands were behind my back, in a vice grip I couldn't break.

"Did you plan on killing me?" He asked from so close behind me I could feel his breath.

"I-I… planed on defending myself." I replied trying not to shake. _When did he..?_

He let my arms go and when I turned around he was holding the limb in between his thumb and index finger as if it were only a toothpick. He then crushed it to sawdust as I watched.

"So tell me Lily Shan: what is it you want if not my spider?"

"She bit my friend." I told him, rubbing my sore wrists.

"The one known as Stephanie Leopard," he said nodding. I wondered how he knew of our nickname for her.

"A nasty business-"

"I want you to make her better." I interrupted trying to keep my voice level with his. It was hard though with my anger building.

"_Me?_" he asked, acting surprised. "But I am not a doctor. I am just a circus performer. A freak. Remember?"

"No," I said. "You're more. I know you can save her."

"Maybe." He said. "Madame Octa's bite is deadly, but for every poison there exists an antidote. Maybe I do have a cure."

"I knew it!" I smiled. "I knew you-"

"But maybe," he interrupted, "it is a small bottle. Maybe there is only a tiny amount of serum. Maybe I want to save it for a real emergency, in case Madame Octa ever bites _me_. Maybe I do not want to waste it on an evil little _brat_." He spat the last word.

_Maybe I think I should call the cops now!_ I thought glaring at him.

"You have to give it to me." I said softly. "You have to use it on Stephanie. She's dying. You can't let her die."

"I most certainly can." Mr. Crepsley laughed. "What is your friend to me? You heard her the night she was here: she said she would become a vampire hunter when she grew up!"

"She didn't mean it," I said gritting my teeth together. "She only said that because she was angry."

"Perhaps." He mused. "But again, I ask: why should I save Stephanie Leopard? The serum is expensive and cannot be replaced."

"I can pay for it." I insisted, and that was what he had been waiting for. I saw it in his eyes, the way they narrowed, the way he smiled when I said it. This was what he had been waiting for. This was why he hadn't left town.

"Pay for it?" he asked slyly. "But you are only a child. You cannot possibly have enough money to buy the cure."

"I'll pay in small amounts." I said, ignoring that he had just called me a child.

"No," he said softly, though his voice seemed as loud as a jet engine to me. "Your money does not interest me."

"What _does_ interest you?" I almost growled. "You must want something from me. That's why you waited for me, isn't it?

"Clever girl." He said smiling as he leaned forward in his chair. "I knew that when I woke up to find my spider gone and your note in her place. I said to myself, 'Larten, there goes a most remarkable child, a true prodigy. There goes-"

"Quit the bull and just tell me what you want!" I snarled, interrupting him. He was toying with me like a cat with a mouse, and it sickened me.

He laughed, and then grew serious. "You remember what your friend and I talked about?" he asked.

"She wanted to be a vampire. You said she was too young, so she said she would be you assistant instead. You were okay with that, but then you said she was evil, and you said no."

"That about sums it up." He agreed. "Except, if you recall, I was not too keen on the idea of an assistant. They can be useful but also a burden."

"Where's this leading?" I asked starting to get annoyed, and slightly panicked. Here we are debating over a price while Stephanie slowly and probably painfully dies.

"I have had a rethink since then." He said.

I gave him a puzzled look. "You mean you'll let Stephanie become your assistant now?" Even though I had a feeling like lead in my gut, that this was _not_ the case.

"Heavens, no!" he yelped causing me to almost jump again. "That monster? There is no telling what she will do as she matures. No, Miss Shan, I do not want Stephanie Leopard to be my assistant."

Before he even lifted his finger to point at me. I knew what he was going to say. "You want me." I sighed.

And I could tell in the way he smiled at me, that I was right.

_AN: So the only reason I can get around to updating right now is because we had a bit of a break in all my classes. So I had enough time to start a story and even get the second chapter up. Hopefully this break will continue so I can continue updating all my stories_


	3. Chapter 3 The Blooding

Disclaimer: I still do not own Cirque Du Freak. Yet. Okay so probably never. One can always hope.

And now what you may have been waiting for. The blooding scene! Yay and stuff. :/

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm just going to let you make me a vampire!" I yelled stumbling backwards until I could feel the door handle digging into my back.

Mr. Crepsley shrugged. "Then Stephanie Leopard dies." He said casually as if we were simply discussing a book.

"Please." I begged as I tried, and failed, to push myself away from the door."There must be another way."

"The issue is not open to debate," he said. "If you wish to save your friend, you must join me. If you refuse, we have nothing further to discuss."

I took a step away from the door. "What if I-"

"Do not waste my time!" he snapped, pounding on the table, causing me to shrink back to the door.

"If you are not interested in my offer, say so and I will leave. But do not waste my time with other options, because there are none."

I took a few steps away from the door, toward him. "Tell me more about being a vampire's assistant." I sighed.

He smiled and I barely suppressed a shiver. "You will be my traveling companion," he explained. "You will travel with me across the world. You will be my eyes and hands during the day. You will guard me while I sleep-"

"So basically I'm just supposed to do whatever you tell me to do?" I interrupted. Who knows how much longer he would have gone on.

"In short, yes. In return, I will teach you the ways of the vampires."

"Do I _have_ to become a vampire?" I asked.

"Eventually," he said. "At first you will only have some vampire powers. I will make you into a half-vampire. That means you will be able to move about during the day. And you will only age at a fifth the regular rate, instead of the full vampire's tenth."

"What does that mean?" I asked, completely confused.

"Vampires do not live forever." He explained. "For every ten years that pass, we age one. As a half vampire, you will age one year for every five."

"I don't know." I mumbled. "It sounds…sketchy to me."

"It is your choice." He said. "I cannot force you to become my assistant. If you decide it is not to your liking, you are free to leave."

He cannot force me? That's a flat out lie. That's exactly what he's doing. Forcing me to become his assistant by threatening my best friends' life.

"It is your assistance or her life." He said as if he were reading my thoughts.

_You're incredibly smelly! _I thought. But whether or not he heard it, he didn't show it.

"That's not much of a choice." I sighed as I stared at a spot on the floor.

"No," he admitted. "It is not. But it is the only one I offer. Do you accept?"

I wanted to say no. A million times no. But if I did, my best friend would slowly and painfully die. Was she worth such a deal? It was my fault she was bit in the first place. If I had just left the spider alone, she would have never been bit. Did I feel guilty enough to throw my life away like this?

"Yes." I whispered. He gave me a crooked smile that in the situation we were in, was oddly pleasant.

"But I just want you to know, that if I ever get the chance to betray you, I will in a heartbeat. You can never trust me!" I growled.

"Fair enough." He said.

"I mean it," I warned him.

"I know you do," he said. "That is why I want you. A vampire's assistant must have spirit. Your fighting quality is exactly what drew me to you."

For a few more seconds we only stared at each other. I took a deep breath. "How do we do it then?" I asked.

He stood and walked toward me until he was less than a foot away. He towered over me like a building, and he smelled of blood.

He raised his right hand and showed me the back of it. His nails weren't that long but they looked sharp. He raised his left hand and pressed the nails of his right into the flesh of the tips of his left hand. Then he did the same to his right.

"Lift your hands," he said. I was watching the blood drip from his fingertips and I guess I didn't move fast enough.

"Now!" he yelled grabbing my wrists and jerking them up. He then dug all ten of his fingernails into the soft tips of my fingers.

"Ow!" I yelled, pulling my hands away and glaring at him.

"Do not be such a baby!" he jeered and grabbed my wrists again.

"It hurts." I groaned.

"Of course it does." He laughed. "It hurt me too. Did you think becoming a vampire was easy?"

"Eas_ier_." I mumbled.

He put a few of my fingers in his mouth and sucked some of my blood out. I watched, a bit freaked out, as he rolled it around in his mouth. As I watched, his eyes dilated a bit, and he jerked… but then his whole body tensed. I thought he was going to tell me that I also had evil blood, and he stared at me for a brief moment. Finally he swallowed it.

"It is good blood. We can proceed." He said.

He pressed the tips of his fingers to the tips of mine. At first I couldn't tell that anything was happening, but then my fingers and hand started to go a bit numb. Suddenly I could feel blood gushing through my veins and I realized that my blood was entering his body through my left hand while his blood was entering my body though my right.

It was a strange feeling. Tingling like when your foot falls asleep. I could feel his blood creep up my arm, and when it reached my heart I felt a terrible stabbing pain. It felt like someone was squeezing my heart tightly, and it was hard to breathe. I could see the same thing happening to Mr. Crepsley, but he seemed to be handling it better than I was.

The pain lasted until I could feel his blood travel down my left side, until it went back into his body. We stayed connected for a few more seconds, until he jumped back. I collapsed on the floor, dizzy and nauseous. I stared blankly at the ceiling while I waited for it to pass, breathing shallowly.

Mr. Crepsley was saying something but I couldn't make it out. He sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown. He appeared in my line of vision, as a blur. Slowly my vision and hearing cleared. He was looking down at me, and… a concerned look crossed his face. Is... is he really _worried_?

"What?" I slurred through my vertigo.

"I said, give me your fingers." Mr. Crepsley said, sounding a little annoyed. "My spit will heal your wounds. You will lose all your blood and die otherwise."

He grabbed my shoulders and effortlessly propped me up against a wall. When I glanced at my fingertips I saw a steady flow of blood leaking out. I let him put my fingers in his mouth again and he ran his tongue over each one. When he released the, the flow had stopped and there was a tiny scar on the tip of each of my fingers.

"That is how you recognize a vampire," Mr. Crepsley explained as he stood up. "There are other ways, but fingers are the simplest and least painful method."

He glanced down to the rip in my skirt and before I could react, he licked his thumb and wiped the spit along the small scratch on my thigh. I went to smack his hand away but missed. It didn't matter, he was already done, and the scratch had healed to new skin. Like it was never even there.

"I could smell you all the way upstairs." He explained.

I started to stand up, only to fall face first to the floor. It was like my legs weren't even there. I would have made a face plant if I had not been caught. An arm like a tree trunk wrapped around me, saving my face from getting on friendly terms with the grimy tile of the floors.

"Usually," Mr. Crepsley said as he helped me to my feet. "Women find it harder to adjust. But that will wear off my morning."

As soon as I could stand on my own again, I wrenched myself from his embrace. Not wanting to be anywhere near him. I still didn't trust him either. "So that's it? I'm a half-vampire now?" I asked starting to gain a better sense of my surroundings.

"Yes." He said.

"What can I do now?" I asked. "Will I be able to change into a bat?"

His laughter echoed around the room, making me feel a bit embarrassed for asking the question.

"A bat?" he laughed. "You do not believe those silly stories, do you? How on Earth could somebody the size of you or I turn into a tiny flying rat?"

"They're not rats, they're mammals." I mumbled. "So what can we do?" I asked, feeling even more embarrassed.

"There is too much to explain." He said. "If we do not get the antidote to your friend by tomorrow morning, the serum will not work."

"Is that _vampire_ tomorrow morning, or human tomorrow morning?" I asked completely serious.

"Let us go." He said quickly, as he led the way back up the stairs. He walked confidently through the darkness with long strides; I had to jog slightly every now and then to keep up with his pace.

Once we were outside he told me to hop on his back. So much forgot being anywhere near him. "Keep your arms around my neck." He said as I wrapped my knees around his waist. "Do not let go or make any sudden movements."

When I was on his back he started running. I didn't notice anything strange at first, but soon began to realize how fast buildings were zipping by. Lights streaked past at incredible speeds. When he finally stopped running, I realized we were at the hospital.

_A.N.: So I got sick last night and got to take the day off. So I had time to finish this chapter a few days early. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter. If not, I am sorry…. Well, not really. I have just sneezed_


	4. Chapter 4 First Taste

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak

We had reached the hospital in record time. "What just happened?" I asked, shocked.

"That is called flitting. Very convenient." Mr. Crepsley replied as we made our way over to the shadows.

"Will I be able to do that?" I asked hopefully.

"Not until you are a full vampire. Flitting aside, you will still be faster that you were before." He said. "Now which room is your friend staying in?"

I pointed to a window on the fourteenth floor. Mr. Crepsley nodded and then lifted his hand and shoved his fingernails right into the bricks. "It is crumbling, but it will hold us." He said. "Wrap your arms around my neck, and if we fall do not worry, I can land on my feet."

"What if I fall?" I asked.

"If you do not let go, you will not fall."

I decided not to ask any more stupid questions after that, and climbed on his back. As he started to climb higher and higher, I found myself struggling not to look down. I had a small problem with heights. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a small breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"Relax." Mr. Crepsley groaned, obviously annoyed. "I have done things like this many times. Look, we are here."

I looked up and realized that I was looking in Stephanie's room through the window. I didn't bother to look down. Mr. Crepsley unlocked the window and climbed in. I slid from his back and landed smoothly on the floor.

Stephanie looked worse than when I had left earlier. She was pale and sweaty. When I touched her arm, she was freezing.

Mr. Crepsley walked over to her and grabbed her other arm, checking her wrist for the pulse. For a few minutes he said nothing, then he grunted and put her arm down.

"We are in time." He said quietly.

I felt my heart leap, and sighed with relief. Mr. Crepsley reached into one of the many pockets in his coat, and produced a small glass vile with some sort of liquid. He then uncorked it and tipped the contents into his mouth.

"What're you…?" I trailed off, and he didn't even glance at me.

He then used his sharp nails to make a cut on Stephanie's neck. Finally, he covered the cut with his lips and blew the antidote into her bloodstream. When Mr. Crepsley leaned back, there was only a tiny scar on her neck where she had been cut.

Mr. Crepsley spat the remaining of the serum into the garbage. "I am always afraid I will swallow it by accident." He said.

I continued to watch Stephanie, half expecting her to wake up, but her eyes stayed shut.

"Come. We must go now." Mr. Crepsley said as he walked back to the open window.

"I want to stay here for a little longer. To make sure she's okay." I said without looking up.

"You mean, to make sure I have not tricked you." He snorted.

Suddenly Stephanie began to shake, and the monitors began to go crazy.

"What's going on?" I asked frantically, as I took a step closer.

"It is only the serum, starting to take effect." He said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back toward the window. "Now we must hurry, someone will be here soon to check on her."

"No…" I said quickly as I pulled away and locked eyes with him.

"…I see." He sighed. "You are going back on our deal."

I didn't say anything, only stared at him.

"Mark my words!" He boomed as he leapt to the windowsill "You will come crawling back to me for help. You will not be able to handle it.!" And he disappeared into the shadows.

Behind me the door swung open as a nurse ran in. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!"

I quickly ran past her into the hall and toward the stairs.

When I got home, my parents were freaking out. They had been about to call the police. Later after they had calmed down, the phone rang. It was the hospital calling to tell us that Stephanie was getting better, and was expected to make a full recovery.

I felt like I could finally rest as I went to my room. I changed into some shorts and a tank top and went to turn off the lights. As I was headed back to bed for the night, I saw something out of the corner of my eye in the window. When I looked past the curtains it looked like someone was standing in our backyard looking at my window.

I reached up to the cord and pulled the curtains away, but whatever had been there was gone. Now before all the events that had occurred in the last week and a half, I would have probably brushed it off as a cat or something. But given that not thirty minutes ago I had been arguing with a vampire, I decided it was probably a good idea to lock my windows tonight.

I dreamed that I was like Dracula in a coffin, but I was being buried alive, and hungry. And while I suffocated in my coffin which was under six feet of dirt, I could hear constant laughing from all around me.

Stephanie wasn't in school for the next three days. I was starting to get worried, but on the fourth day she was in before me, surrounded by kids wanting to hear her story. She proudly showed her neck where she had been bitten. Luckily if anyone saw it, they didn't bother to point out the scar where Mr. Crepsley had given her the antidote.

Later when she was able to talk to me alone, she asked me what I had done with Madame Octa.

"I killed her." I said.

"Really?" Stephanie asked surprised. "How?"

"I crushed her with one of my textbooks and then drowned her in my bathtub." I recited.

A friend of ours, Logan, came running up to us before Stephanie could ask another question. "Hey you gotta see what Lily can do on the field now! She's a beast!" He exclaimed.

"Oh really?" Stephanie smirked. "Been getting better behind my back?" she teased.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I replied sticking my tongue out as we headed toward the soccer fields. I reached up beside her hear and when she turned to look at me, I flicked her in the forhead. It was something we did to each other.

"You and me! Right now!" Stephanie laughed as we headed to the center where teams were being picked.

We wound up on the same team but I didn't care. I was glad that things were starting to get back to normal. Or it was starting to, until Logan fell and scraped his knee on a rock. It was bleeding.

"Hey Logan, you okay?" I asked walking over to him. When I was only five feet from him, the smell of the blood hit me like a slap in the face. I wanted that blood.

"Yeah just need…a…" He trailed off as I leaned over him and started to lick the blood off his knee.

I had only tasted the coppery blood before I realized what I was doing, and everyone on the field was staring at me. Not good.

"I am the Vampire Lord!" I shouted as I jumped up, Logan's blood running down my chin. "I will eat all of you!" I cried dramatically before smiling like an idiot.

"EW! Lily you are just nasty!" One of the girls screamed. "You are so wrong!"

"You're so weird!" Another girl squealed.

The guys mostly thought it was funny, and I laughed along with them, as wiped the blood off my chin. I glanced at Stephanie smiling and giggling like an idiot. Stephanie was not smiling or laughing. She was staring coldly at me. I quickly looked away, and helped Logan up to go to the nurses office.

That night I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, my mom was already in there, getting ready to take a shower. As she sat on the edge of the tub I could hear her heart beating. She was saying something about my homework, but I wasn't paying attention. I held up my hand and she stopped talking, eyes transfixed on my hand. I was hypnotizing her! The water was steaming, but she made no move to start the shower. Her heart beating loudly in my ears, I was starting to go crazy.

I ran out of the bathroom and when I got to my room I slammed the door shut. I had almost killed my own mother just now. I couldn't control this. It was too much. Mr. Crepsley had been right. I needed him to help me with this. And I knew that if I went back to him, I would be throwing this life away.

_AN: So yeah I ended this chapter the same way the book did. I was thinking that I might do the next chapter with part of it like a songfic because I think I found a song that seems to fit. If you want to know what the song is, either wait for the next chapter or leave a review xP_


	5. Chapter 5 The Return

Disclaimer: I still do not own Cirque Du Freak.

Later that night when my mom came to tuck me in, I was just barely able to fight the urge by digging my nails into my own arm. It just barely works as I found myself getting up to follow her.

I snuck out my window for the third time in my life, and ran back to the run down theatre. The journey, faster with my half vampirism, was still the longest walk in my life.

_Alone Once more alone As the memories weave and fade away Separation mocks me Frustration consumes me Inspiration has grown cold Even as the longing renews_

When I walked into the little room where I had last met Mr. Crepsley, he was waiting there again, with a small smirk on his face. I couldn't meet his eyes, so I stared at the floor, ashamed.

_Desperate I return to you Broken I return to you We circle over and over But still I return to you_

"You lasted a little longer that I expected you to." He said.

"I drank blood from one of my friends, and almost killed my own mother." I said quietly. I met his eyes to gauge his reaction. He only nodded. He had been expecting this. I slumped in the chair at the little table, across from where he was sitting, and stared at the floor.

_What will it take to escape you what will it take to escape you Is this what you wanted To see me humbled Is this what you asked for The final word_

"It is a good thing you came to me now before it got worse and someone was seriously hurt."

"What do I have to do?" I sighed, admitting defeat. "What do I have to do, to make sure I never hurt them?" But I already knew. I just hoped he would lie to me. I looked sadly at the tiny scars on my fingertips. The mark of a vampire.

_I would tear my eye's out To never see your face But all of these scars Can never be erased_

"Well first," he said thinking, as he scratched the scar running down his cheek. "We have to kill you."

"Kill me?" I asked angrily as I glared at him through misty eyes.

"Not literally." He said quickly. "We only have to make everyone believe that you are dead."

I rested my head against my hand and squeezed my eyes shut. "Because nobody's going to come looking for a dead person." I sighed.

"Precisely." He said. I could tell he was smiling. "I knew you were a smart one!"

I fought back a few tears but they stung my dry eyes.

_Choke on your words That have left me bleeding And may your tear's May your tear's burn_

Tears began to slide down my cheeks, and I felt even more ashamed because I knew he could see. If only I had never come to the show. If only I had never done something so stupid as steal a giant venomous pet spider from a vampire. If only Stephanie, had never been bit. I could be home right now. Sleeping in a warm bed, probably dreaming. I wouldn't have to be here now. Handing my life over to this twisted creature.

_What will it take To escape you What will it take To escape_

Over the next few days, I was spending as much time as I could with my family and friends. Even Stephanie. I could tell what she was thinking whenever I was around her. Those sneaky glances were not so very sneaky.

I played video games for four straight hours one afternoon with my brother. I let him win more times than I did. And when he bragged about it, even though it really annoys me, I let him. He was so happy, and it hurt me to realize that soon, he would be crying at my funeral.

On Thursday night, we all sat and watched movies together, and I let everyone else choose what we watched. I really didn't mind watching Ninja Turtles. I found myself just enjoying watching my family. Memorizing every detail of their faces, and habits.

Friday night I went to the mall with most of my friends. Logan, Ricky, Wade and Robert made up the male portion of our group. Jessie and Anna were the females. It was then that I noticed that most of my friends were guys. I never really did fit in with most girls and their little clique. Jessie and Anna were weird like me though. So was Stephanie. But when I called to invite her out, she gave me some excuse about her head hurting.

Saturday, my mom made my favorite food. Stromboli's. I love Italian food. It was like she was reading my thoughts. And for dessert, peanut butter brownies with ice cream.

That night before I was supposed to go to bed, I carried my old guitar into my brother's room. I had always told him not to ever touch any of my guitars or I would do something like shave his head bald. And his eyebrows.

"Here." I said as I handed him my first guitar.

He slowly took it from me, thinking I was pulling some kind of prank. "What's this for?" he asked.

"You should learn to play guitar. It's a lot of fun." I said.

"I don't know." He said quietly as he inspected the strings.

"Go ahead. Play it." I said and handed him a pick. He took the pick and strummed a few strings. A grin spread across his face.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll be a famous rock star some day!" I laughed. "You can look up tabs online, learn to play your favorite songs." He nodded, and I stared at him for a moment, trying to imprint this moment in my memories forever. Then I turned and left. "Good night."

"Night." He said as he continued to pluck the strings. I walked back to my room and opened my window. Mr. Crepsley wasn't due for another two hours. So I crawled in bed and dozed off.

In my dream, I was sitting in a grassy field. Something I couldn't see was stalking me. There was a castle in the distance, and I knew that if I made it to the castle, whatever was stalking me couldn't get me. I'd be safe. But it was like I was running on a treadmill, the faster I ran, the farther the castle seemed to be. I glanced over my shoulder a few times to try and see whatever was chasing me, but all I could see was a shadow. Then, when I turned to face the castle again, it was gone. Replaced by a dark mountain. The grassy fields became an icy barren wasteland. When I turned back to face the shadow, Mr. Creplsey was there.

I jerked awake groggily to the smell of blood. When I looked around my room I saw Mr. Crepsley walking to the window.

"What are you doing?" I almost shrieked as I jumped out of bed. "W-what, were you just watching me sleep?"

"No." He replied annoyed, turning around to face me. "I thought I would let you sleep a while longer, but now that you are awake we can go." He said, and I could swear he sounded smug.

He pulled a vile from one of his many pockets, while I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I reached under my bed and grabbed a bag that I had packed. There was not much that I would be able to take with me, but whatever I could take, I was going to try. Just some clothes, a book, my diary and a few knick knacks.

"Hang on to this for me." I said handing it to him and taking the vile from him. "Promise not to go looking through it?"

"I have no reason or desire to go searching through the belongings of a child." He sighed. "Yes, I promise."

"I am _not_ a kid." I retorted and downed the liquid in a single gulp. "I'm going to be eighteen in three weeks."

"Until then you are still considered a minor." He replied, matter-of-factly. "Are you ready?"

"Hold on." I went over to my desk and placed a necklace that my mom had got me as a souvenir from Canada one year, on top of the picture of Stephanie and I. I wanted them to find it. Then I went to the window and scratched up the sill a bit with my nails, and then turned a corner of the rug up. I turned around to see Mr. Crepsley raising an eyebrow at me.

"It's to… y'know... make it look like I tripped and fell." I explained.

"I know. I am just surprised that you thought of that." He said. "Any last words?" He asked jokingly, slightly smiling. He walked around behind me and placed his hands around my neck.

"Let's just hope my parents didn't assign for me to be cremated if I died." I said, and felt my neck snap in several placed as he turned my head at an odd angle.

I couldn't see very well now that my head was lolling around, and it didn't help much that my body was shutting down as the potion started to take effect. I felt my body being carried to the window where I was thrown to the yard below. It would be several hours until the sun rose. And several more before my dad went into my room to wake me up. Only to find me lying face down in the grass below.

I wish I could say, that I blacked out as the potion had taken effect. I wish I could say that I was asleep until Mr. Crepsley came and dug me up. But I was awake for every moment of it. I had to sit and listen to my family scream and cry over my "death".

_AN: Song- The Return by Killswitch Engage. Anyways, THAT is how someone should react if they find that someone has been sneaking into their room to watch them sleep. Not fall madly in love with them. Because it is creepy, not endearing._


	6. Chapter 6 Death and New Life

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

By the time I was declared dead, it was 9:34 AM. I know this because I heard the doctor say so. I wouldn't be surprised to find that my parents already knew that I was dead, before they heard it. They X-rayed my neck and head, showing my broken neck as my cause of death.

After I was shoved in a freezer, I let my imagination entertain me. I made up a story about a astronaut, who winds up on an alien spaceship. But I got bored of it quickly and made up a different story about a girl who becomes a vampire.

Later they came to take me to be dressed for my burial. Someone was putting makeup on my face. I had hardly ever worn makeup before and it felt like whoever it was, was putting on way too much.

Then I was back at my house. I could smell the living room all around me. Many of my relatives had come to wish my family well. Aunts and Uncles I had never met or only heard of. I didn't realize that my family had been so big. I kept hearing comments about how I looked like my mother, or how I had my dad's chin, and all. Then it was about how my parents and I shared similar habits, like how I chew my lip when I'm agitated. I didn't realize that I did that. I had the urge to scratch my neck but I couldn't even twitch. On top of that, sitting and listening to my family got boring after a while. But I could still hear people crying. I just wanted this to be over with as quickly as possible, yet it droned on like a history class.

After everyone had left, my dad came in and started talking to me. He told me about his plans he had made for me. About college and jobs. I figured that with me out of the way, my brother could just replace me in my dad's plans. Later that night, someone came to visit me. They examined my hands and took pictures. The camera flash illuminating the veins in my eyes behind my eyelids. They stuck a needle into my side, taking care not to puncture any of my organs. Last, they opened my mouth and stuck a sour tasting paper on my tongue. Then, they were gone.

The next day I was buried. My eulogy was said, and then, finally, I was lowered six feet into the earth. I could still hear people talking through the coffin lid, but as more and more dirt covered me, the sounds were muffled out, until I could only barely hear them.

Hours later I started to get feeling back in my toes. Then my whole body started to tingle like when my arm falls asleep. I slowly flexed my muscles until my whole body could move. Then I stretched and yawned.

"I needed that." I mumbled to myself, turning on my side, inside the cramped box. I sighed when I started thinking about my family. Hopefully after a while, they will get over my death, and move one with their lives. Like when the cat died.

As time kept trailing by, I started to get worried. It had to be very late, it felt like it was maybe 12:00 or 1:00. So what was taking Mr. Crepsley so long? What if my air ran out? I had to try not to hyperventilate.

What felt like hours later, I heard scratching from above me. Something was digging toward me. As it got closer I realized it was a shovel. Mr. Crepsley was finally here. I shifted back until I was lying on my back again.

The scratching and scraping continued until the shovel struck loudly on the lid causing me to flinch. He knocked on the lid three times. Then the lid was finally lifted and I breathed in the fresh air, slowly sitting up. My back felt stiff and popped as I sat up.

He stared intently at me for a moment, then slowly he smiled. "How do you feel?" Mr. Crepsley asked as he helped me out of the coffin.

"Tired and hungry." I said and stretched again.

He turned and leaped straight out of the six foot hole. He then turned and stretched his arm toward me. I had to jump a bit to grab it, and he pulled me out. He checked my neck where the break was, and then examined my spine. My neck was almost completely healed.

"No broken bones." He noted. "Just a bit of bruising." He stepped back to my grave, picked up the shovel and began to toss dirt back in the hole.

"Need help?" I asked as I walked up beside him.

"No, you will only slow me down." He said. "Go for a walk. Work some of the stiffness out of your bones."

Now that I was out and my eyes were open, I could see what I had been dressed in. It was a beautiful black dress that stopped above my knees. There were no sleeves on it, and the neckline went was too low for my taste.

"Where's my bag?" I asked, and he pointed to a nearby grave where my bag leaned against the headstone.

I slung it over my shoulders and headed towards some trees. I was starting to enjoy myself when a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed me.

The hand wrapped around my mouth an pulled me behind the trees and out of sight. I looked up at my attacker, ready to fight, but instead I saw a wooden stake, with the point of it directly above my heart.

"You move one inch," my attacker said. "and I drive this through you."

The words didn't surprise me as much as the voice that spoke them did. I looked past the wooden stake into the face of my best friend, Stephanie Leopard.

"Steph.." I breathed. "What are you-"

"Not one word." She snarled, pressing the point against my flesh. "I don't want that new _friend_ of yours hearing."

"My friend?" I asked puzzled. She nodded to where Mr. Crepsley was still filling the grave. "Oh, Mr. Crepsley..."

"Larten Crepsely, Vur Horston. It's all the same to me. He's still a vampire."

"What are you doing here?" I hissed,

"Vampire hunting. Looks like I found a pair!" She said poking me with the stake.

"Look," I growled. "if you're going to stick that thing in me, just do it already, if not, then put it away already." (that's what she said) She lowered her weapon a few inches.

"Why are you here?" I asked as I leaned against a headstone. "How did you know to come?"

"I was following you, all weekend." She said. "After what you did to Logan, I knew what you were. I saw Mr. Crepsley go into your house, and when he threw you out the window."

"You were the one who snuck in the living room!" I gasped, remembering my mysterious visitor.

"Yes." She nodded. "I had to be sure you were really dead."

"So you knew I was actually still alive?" I asked, sheepishly.

"The marks on your finger, were the biggest clue." She nodded toward my hands. "That and the litmus paper. It changes color when you stick it on a damp surface."

"How did you know about the marks on the fingers?" I asked amazed. I had always known that Stephanie was very smart, but this was different. This was supposed to be stuff you see in myths.

"I read about it in a very old book." She said. "That was the only time I had ever seen anything about fingertips, but then when I saw your fingers-"

She stopped suddenly and tilted her head, straining to hear. I realized that Mr. Crepsley had stopped digging. It was quiet for a moment.

"Lily, where are you?" He called across the graveyard.

Beside me Stephanie started to breathe heavily. I could see the fear written across her face. She hadn't planned for this. She had no idea what to do.

"I'm over here!" I called back. Stephanie jumped. "I'm fine." I stood up but didn't walk away from Stephanie.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes. I'm just resting. Call me when you're ready." I sat back down and faced Stephanie. She didn't look as brave as she had moments ago.

"Why did you come here?" I asked.

"To kill you." She said.

"_Kill_ me? What in the world for?"

"You're a vampire." She growled. "What other reason should I need?"

"You wanted to be a vampire." I snapped.

"Yeah. I did. But now look! _You're_ the one who did!" She hissed angrily. "I bet you planned this. You made him think I was evil."

"That's not true and you know it." I sighed. "I never even wanted to be a vampire! I only agreed to it to save your life."

"Liar!" She scoffed. "I can't believe I ever thought of you as a friend."

"I am your friend. _You_ have always been my best friend." I felt like crying. "Steph...listen to me-"

"Spare me the sob story." She snarled, and started to crawl away. "I'm going now. I thought I could kill you, but I was wrong. But you listen to me Lily Shan." She was standing now.

"One day, Lily Shan, I will hunt you down and kill you." She pulled out a knife, and before I could blink, she carved a cross into the palm of her hand. "On my very blood, I swear to it!" She then turned and ran, disappearing into the shadows.

I listened until I could no longer hear her footsteps. I could have run after her and put an end to her, no sweat. But she was my best friend.

As I walked back to my grave, Mr. Crepsley was just finishing up. I watched him smooth over the dirt with the shovel. It was large and heavy, yet he moved it as easily as if it were made of cardboard.

"Are you sure that you are all right?" He asked as he broke the shove into tiny pieces and threw them into the darkness. "You seem very tense."

I didn't want to tell him about Stephanie. He might go after her. Besides, she would forget about this after a while when something new popped into her life. I hoped.

"You would too if you'd just spent all day in a coffin." I replied, rubbing the back of my neck.

He laughed. "I will have you know-"

"Never mind!" I interrupted quickly, realizing that as a vampire, he did in fact sleep all day in a coffin. "Rhetorical."

He smirked as he rolled his eyes. "Is the stiffness wearing off?"

"Yeah." I said as I stretched my spine again. It made a sound like a tire rolling over a gravel road. "I wouldn't want to fake my death again."

"No," he mused, scratching his chin. "It is a dangerous stunt."

I stared at him. "You said it was safe!"

"I lied." He shrugged. "The potion sometimes drives its patients too far toward death and they never recover. And I could not be certain they would not preform an autopsy on you. And...do you want to hear all this?" He asked, as if suddenly realizing my existance.

"No," I growled, feeling sick. "I don't." I jumped at him and swung my fist hard at his head. He ducked out of the way, laughing, as if it were all just some game.

"You told me I'd be safe!" I shouted. "You lied to me!" I didn't hate anyone in the world more than I hated the vampire Larten Crepsely.

"I had to," he said. "You would not have agreed-"

"And what if I'd died?" I hissed through clenched teeth. "What then?"

He shrugged again. "I would be down one assistant. No great loss."

"Oh my fucking...I just...God!" The last word actually came out as 'guuhhh!' and more gutteral. I glanced at Mr. Crepsley. He looked a bit shocked by my language. I slumped against a headstone shaped like an angel. There really was no point in pressing the matter further.

"I hate you." I huffed. "Do you know that? I _hate_ you!"

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

I continued to glare at him, but the conversation was over. There was nothing I could do about it now. "Yeah, hold on." I ran to a taller headstone, and leapt to the top of it. I couldn't see much of the town, but it would most likely be the last time I ever saw the place where I grew up.

"You will grow used to leaving." Mr. Crepsley said. He was standing next to me on the gravestone. He stood about as high as I was now.

"Will I ever get used to it?" I asked in a quiet voice, gazing back out at the town.

"Maybe after a few decades," he sighed. "Maybe longer."

"Will I ever be able make friends?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

"Probably not." he said. My heart dropped to my stomach.

"Does it get lonely?" I asked.

"Terribly so," he admitted.

We stared in silence a few minutes longer. It was kind of pretty to see the city at night. It was kind of like looking at the stars. I tilted my head to try and see the sky, but it was covered with clouds.

_Never mind..._ I thought to myself. "Okay," I huffed, and jumped back to the grass. "I'm ready whenever you are. But I want to do one more thing before I go."

"What is that?" he asked as he joined me.

"See, there was this teacher of mine when I was in elementary school, who really hated me." I said. "And I know every kid will say, 'My teacher hates me' but this woman _really_ had it out for me."

"Go on," Mr. Crepsley said. I had a feeling that he knew where I was going with this.

"Well, now that I'm supposed to be dead, I thought it might be fun to pay her back a little, for tormenting me." I said with a mischievous smile.

"And what exactly, did you have in mind?" he asked as he stood in front of me. Making me feel short.

"Something along the lines of, standing in front of her window with a scary look on my face, and then disappearing." I said hopefully.

He burst out laughing for a moment. "I think not." he said.

**Crepsley's POV:**

She looked a bit hurt when I told her she could not scare her teacher. But she quickly got over it. It would not have been a wise thing to do. Her teacher might alert someone, thinking that she was still alive. We did not need that kind of attention.

"You may ride on my back if you wish." I offered.

"No, thank you." She replied politely. "Maybe later. I think I should walk some more of the stiffness out of my legs."

"Very well." I said.

She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, and grabbed her stomach and it growled. "I haven't had anything to eat since you threw me out the window." she said. "I'm hungry."

"Me too." I replied. I took her hand in mine and grinned. "Let us go!" I said excitedly.

She took a deep nervous breath and gave my hand a squeeze. "Okay then."

With me leading the way, we turned away from the city lights, and headed into the forest.

_A.N.: Well there is your first Crepsley POV. I figured someone might enjoy it. Tell me if you think I should continue with just Lily's point of view or start changing it back and forth, now that Mr. Crepsley is also in the picture_


	7. Chapter 7 The Life of a Half Vampire

Disclaimer: Did I mention that I do not own Cirque Du Freak? No? Well I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

--

I stood at the end of the sidewalk. About thirty feet away, was our target. I couldn't believe what I was about to do. I felt like I was setting this poor man up for an ambush. Because, that's exactly what I'm doing.

From where I am I can see him clearly now. I know for a fact that I can see him, better than he can see me. Heightened senses, are a bonus with becoming a half-vampire.

He's not very young, maybe twenty-five or thirty years old. He must be in the scouts, because he's wearing shorts. That plus I can see his uniform shirt. He looks too happy. I find it very annoying, that he's so happy, whistling some tune that I've never heard before.

He stops whistling as he approaches me. "Can I help you? Are you lost?" He asks me.

I shake my head, but otherwise say nothing. I can hear Mr. Crepsley nearby. He's not being very quiet. The scoutmaster doesn't seem to hear him though, or he probably just thinks it's some animal. I don't think he'd be far off if he were thinking that.

"Don't worry, I'm a scoutmaster," he says.

_Gee thanks I had no idea, what with the getup you're wearing I though you were Captain Kirk_ I thought to myself.

"Come on let's-" He doesn't get to finish whatever he was going to say. From somewhere behind him Mr. Crepsley leaps at him. I turn my head away, squeezing my eyes shut. When I open them, the man is lying on the ground, Mr. Crepsley crouched over him.

"I-is he...dead?" I ask nervously, taking a step closer to the body.

"Do not make me repeat myself, Lily," Mr. Crepsley sighed. "It is a special gas I breathed into him to make him sleep. You cannot do it though. You are not a full vampire."

He used his sharp nails to make a cut in one of the mans legs, before leaning over to drink the flowing blood. I watched him for a few minutes, slightly disgusted. Mr. Crepsley then leaned back.

"Here," he said. "Drink."

"No, I don't want to." I said, backing away from the blood.

"Do not be stupid, it is time you drank!" He said angrily."You have drank animal blood."

"But that's different!" I argued. "This is a human. I just can't."

"You must understand that we are not harming or killing humans." he said. "We are only taking a small amount. Even as a half-vampire, you cannot live on animal blood alone. If you do not start drinking human blood, you will grow weak and eventually die."

"I know!" I sighed exasperated. "You've explained it to me. But I just can't...I can't drink human blood. I wont!"

He sighed and rubbed some of his spit on the wound. "Very well. I will let you abstain this time."

_There is no 'This time'. I'll NEVER drink human blood!_ I thought angrily as I stared at the blood that had pooled on the sidewalk.

"It is an issue that you must face some day. You must accept the fact that you are no longer human." He sighed.

I might be half vampire, but the other half of me is still human. We started walking down the road.

"We are close to townp. Better find new clothes." Mr. Crepsley said. "This circus outfit is too noticeable. What sort of clothes is the style of these times?"

"No what you're wearing's fine." I laughed. He looked down at his clothes for a minute, then back at me. "No, I was jsut kidding!" I said quickly. I turned and ran ahead of him before he could reply.

"Wait, Lily!" He called from behind me.

--

It's been about two months since I "died". We've traveled further than I ever imagined that I would. I'm having trouble keeping up with my changing body. My nails are the worst. They've become sharper than any blade. I have to be careful when I put on or take off my clothes, or when I stick my hands in my pockets. Otherwise they would tear through the fabric as easy as wet toilet paper.

One night Mr. Crepsley found me staring at my reflection in the mirror. I was looking at my teeth. He asked me what I was doing and then preceeded to laugh and make fun of me when I told him I was trying to see if I had fangs.

Turns out, most myths about vampries are false. Garlic, crosses and holy water don't bother us. We're not immortal. A stake through the heart would kill us, but last time I checked, it would kill any human too. Our reflection shows up in mirrors, and we cast shadows. But we can't be photographed or videotaped. Something about our atoms moving too much. Sunlight wouldn't kill a vampire immediatly, but four or five hours would.

There are so many things to remember. Like what animals I can and can't drink from. A careless half-vampire wouldn't last long.

To be honest, I still hate Mr. Crepsley. I can laugh or joke with him, but I still plan to keep my promise about killing him. I could do it if I wanted to. All I would have to do is leave the curtains open while he's sleeping. But I need him. I won't last long without his help.

I decided to go into town one afternoon. I was bored, and Mr. Crepsley wasn't going to be up for a while. I left a note telling him that I would be back later, incase he woke up before I returned.

The town was nice. Just your average everyday town. One of the benefits of being a half-vampire is that I can go out in the sunlight for as long as I want. I was really enjoying the fresh air. I went into a few electronics stores just to see what was new. Just some games I had never heard of, or had seen but never bothered to play.

As I was walking down a street, I passed a park where some kids were playing soccer. The ball was kicked over the fence and rolled across the street until I stopped it on the other side.

"Hey kid!" Someone yelled. I groaned. I hated being called 'kid'. "Kick us the ball!"

I rolled the ball on top of my foot, kicked it straight up into the air, and then sidekicked it on it's decent. It sailed across the street and over the fence.

As I turned to walk away the same person called to me again. "Hey! wait up!" he ran across the street and stopped in front of me.

"Want to play with us?" he asked. "We're short one player. You can be on my team!" he said with a smile, that I suppose was meant to be dazzling.

"Sure!" I grinned. I hadn't played since before I'd 'died'.

It was pretty easy to play against these kids. I had to tone it down in order to not look suspicious, and pretend to be breathing hard.

"Wow, you're really good!" The kid who had invited me said and he ran up beside me. "But you dress weird!" He laughed.

I looked at the clothes I was wearing. They were some of the clothes I had packed from my old life. Jeans and a t-shirt. Simple enough, but they were worn out from the two months on the road.

"Well we lost our luggage." I lied. "These are all I have."

"It's cool." he said. "I'm Matt by the way!" He said and extended his hand.

I took his hand in a firm handshake, careful not to crush his hand, or cut it with my nails. "I'm Lily!"

This was great. I didn't see why Mr. Crepsley said I couldn't have friends anymore. Vampires can have friends.

As we continued to play, one of the other girls was really starting to play dirty. She kept hitting me with her bony elbows. At one point she hit me in the side and winded me for a minute. The smirk on her face told me that she had done it on purpose.

"What's her deal?!" I asked Matt angrily.

"That's Caroline. She's a cheap player." He said.

"Yeah but she's totally hot!" Another guy laughed beside Matt.

"She needs to take a Midol." I huffed. Matt laughed at this, and I smiled back at him.

As the game continued, so did the beatings. At one point, I was going for the ball when Caroline brought her knee up, right into my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. When I finally recovered, a few minutes later, I was pissed.

She was kicking the ball down the field, not watching where she was going, but instead, winking at Matt in a way she must have thought was seductivly.

I tore down the field after her, catching up to her in seconds, and swung my leg hard, trying to kick the ball away from her. Instead of the familiar '_pang_' of the soccer ball, I heard a muffled crunch, followed by a shrill cry of pain.

Everyone ran and crowded around Caroline. I couldn't see her anymore but I could tell something was seriously wrong. I could smell blood. And with my vampire strength, I knew I had just done something terrible.

"Oh my G-"

"Is that BONE?!"

"Somebody call an ambulance!!"

I took a few steps closer. One of her legs was completely snapped off at the thigh, hanging by a few strips of flesh and muscle. The other, though still somewhat intact, had bone poking through the skin. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Stay back!" Matt cried. I could see the mix of fear and anger in his eyes. Mirrored looks from everyone else, told me that they were all thinking the same thing.

"Monster!" someone hissed from the group.

I backed away from them. They all glared at me. I turned and ran from the field. Ran from the blood, and hate and anger that I had caused. I didn't stop running until I had shut the door to our hotel room firmly behind me. I then collapsed against the door. To scared to really cry.

When Mr. Crepsley finally woke up, I told him that we needed to leave as soon as possible. To my surprise, he didn't ask any quentions, only helped me to pack our things, and we left.

--

**Mr. Crepsley POV**

We had traveled to a different state before I thought it was safe enough to make camp. We found an abandoned church deep in the woods. Lily did not seem to be in the mood to talk, so I sat quietly watching her as she occupied herself with making breakfast. Or, for her it would be dinner. I did try once or twice to make conversation, but it did not go very far.

After we had finished eating, (it was delicious!) I decided it was time she did some explaining. "I think it is time you did some explaining," I said. "Why did we have to leave so quickly? What happened this afternoon?"

She flinched a bit, but told me the story. "I see." I sighed. "You need to understand, that you cannot coexist as easily with humans anymore. Next time you will have to be more careful."

"There's not going to _be_ a 'next time'." She sighed. "I'm too dangerous. I can't have any friends. Even if I could, they wouldn't be real friends."

"Why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Because real friends don't keep secrets from each other!" She cried. "I can't just make friends with someone and then say, oh hey, did I mention, I'm a half-vampire? No? Well now you know!"

"But that is a problem that every vampire shares!" I argued back. "Is it truly that improtant to you to have friends?"

"You're right." She said sarcastically, catching me off gaurd. "I wouldn't expect you to understand the value of friendship. My friends, were the most important thing in my life besides my family. My friends _were_ my family."

She was on the verge of tears by now. I could hear it in her voice. I really did feel sorry for her. In my heart, I felt that she was right. "I am sorry, Lily." I said finally. "I should not have blooded you. I was not trying to hurt you when I made you a vampire. I..."

"Well, it's my fault to begin with." She said.

"We are very different from humans." I told her. "No matter how hard you try to be normal, you are not."

"I was never _normal_ to begin with." She laughed, saying the word 'normal' with distaste. "I wasn't really good at being human either. I'm not much better as a vampire it seems."

_It will get better._ I thought to myself. "Wait a minute...if you are not 'normal', then..."

"Then, what?" She asked raising an eyebrow at me. I would have laughed at the confused look on her face, but I did not want to hurt her feelings.

"Why did I not think of this before! You do not have to be stuck with me all of the time! I know how you can have friends." I laughed.

"But you said humans..."

"I am not talking about humans Lily, I am talking about people with special abilities, people like us!"

"I uh...I don't follow."

"Lily, what do you think about going back, and becoming a member of the Cirque Du Freak?"

--

**Lily POV:**

I was very excited with the thought of finally being able to have friends. It was like my birthday! For my real birthday, we didn't do anything to celebrate. I don't think he even remembered. So I celebrated by myself in the hotel we had been at, by watching an old movie. Fun.

Mr. Crepsley carried me while he flitted. Suddenly after a long time, he slowed to a stop and I slid to the ground. He looked a bit winded from running so long.

"Tired old man?" I jeered, receiving a glare that shut me up.

"Flitting takes a lot of energy." He explained.

"Where are we then?" I asked, standing up to look at our surroundings. Through the trees I could see a small town in the distance, with very few lights on. "How far til we get there?"

"The Cirque Du Freak is only about two miles from here." He replied. "We will walk from here."

I would have argued, but he really did look exhausted from our trek. I jumped up and started off ahead of him. "Come on slowpoke! You'll die if we don't get there before sunrise!" I laughed.

"As if I needed _you_ to point that out!!" He growled playfully at me. But instead of catching up to me he closed his eyes and bowed his head, mumbling as though he were praying. "Not even two miles, let us make haste!"

"What were you doing just now?" I asked as I stopped about ten feet away from him.

"I was searching for Mr. Tall's aura. Once I locate that, finding the Cirque Du Freak's location is as easy as finding a needle in a haystack."

"That's supposed to be hard, isn't it?" I sighed raising an eyebrow at him. He thought for a fraction of a second.

"Not for a vampire!" He coughed into his fist. "But you cannot do this yet..."

"Because I'm only a half-vampire, I get it I get it!" I sighed again, before jogging away from him again. He laughed mumbling something under his breath about insolent children.

As we neared what looked to be a campsite, we slowed down to a walk. Mr. Crepsley reached up and grabbed some limbs. "Are you ready to proceed, Lily?" He asked.

"What if...I mean, do you really think they'll let me join?" I asked nervously.

"What is wrong? Feeling insecure?" He smirked.

"If I am then it's nothing new to me." I huffed. "I just don't do well around people."

"Are you antisocial?" he questioned.

"I'm not antisocial, I just hate people." I said simply. I don't know if he caught it or not.

"If you like it there, we may stay." he said, hand still holding the branches. "If you do not, then we leave. It is that simple. Now let us proceed." He said and pulled the limbs aside.

We stepped into a clearing, revealing many large circus tents. I kept spinning around as I followed Mr. Crepsley through the tents, to look at everything. We walked up to a trailer and he knocked on the door.

Mr. Tall emerged. "I thought I felt you searching for me...Larten Crepsley." He smiled at us. "I see you've brought the girl."

"May we come in?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Of course. What is one supposed to say to you vampires? Enter of your own free will...was it?"

"Something like that." Mr. Crepsley replied, and they both chuckled at this, like it was an inside joke.

I smiled and placed my hands behind my head like I was leaning against an invisible wall. "Hahaha I don't get it!" I sang, still smiling.

--

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon, Larten." Mr. Tall said once we were inside his trailer.

"A swift return was not on the agenda, Hibernius." Mr. Crepsley replied.

_'Hibernius?'_ I thought to myself. _'What an unusual name.'_

"Did you run into trouble?" Mr. Tall asked.

"No, it was for Lily's sake..." Mr. Crepsley repled.

Mr. Tall stared at me for a moment, making me feel a bit uncomfortable.

"You have come a long way since I last saw you, Lily Shan." He said after a while.

My thoughts immediatly went to my vampire blood. I cringed at it, suddenly feeling depressed. Mr. Crepsley came up behind me and place his hand on my shoulder.

"Is it okay if we stay?" He asked.

"Of course. Delighted to have you back actually. We're understaffed at the moment. You and Madame Octa will be a great addition to the lineup."

"Thank you." Mr. Crepsley smiled.

"You are less valuable but welcome all the same." Mr. Tall said to me.

"Thanks." I laughed.

"Your coffin has been well taken care of, Larten." Mr. Tall said.

"Wonderful! It will be nice to sleep in it once more!" Mr. Crepsley said excitedly.

"What about the girl? Shall I have one made for her too?" Mr. Tall asked.

"No way!" I said suddendy. "I never want to be in one of those again." I shivered at the thought of being stuck in a coffin again.

"Put Lily in with one of the other performers. Somebody her own age if possible. Evra would be perfect." Mr. Crepsley said and then turned to me. "As long as you do not mind sleeping in the same room as a boy?"

"I suppose it's fine." I said. I remembered the name Evra but I couldn't put a face to it. Whoever he was, if he tried anything on me, I could probably handle him, thanks to my vampire strength. "Who is Evra again?" I asked.

"You will find out." was the only answer I got. Mr. Crepsley left, to do who knows what, and I followed Mr. Tall though the campsite.

"I think Evra is a bit older than you, but you should get along just fine." He said as we neared one of the tents.

"But... who's Evra?" I asked, but when I turned, he was gone.

I turned back toward the entrance to the tent. It was dark inside so I couldn't see anything. I pulled the flap back and walked into the darkness, trying to be carefull not to step on anything that might be on the floor.

_A.N. I wonder. Does anyone think that my chapters might be getting too short? Anyways. So I start at a new highschool on monday. Nervous about that. I do not know yet if this will effect my writing schedule in any way. So let us just hope it does not. :)_


	8. Chapter 8 How to Make Human Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak

--

I couldn't see very well because of the darkness, and I kept stepping on what felt like tubes or ropes. I stood in what I took to be the center of the tent, looking for any indication of life. In one corner I saw what looked like a hammock with a person sleeping in it. Something moved next to my foot, and the next thing I knew, it was coiling itself around my leg!

My breath caught in my throat as it continued to coil its way around my body, pinning my arms to my sides. That's when I realized that it was a snake. A very large snake. I looked into its yellow eyes, frozen. Afraid that any move I made, no matter how small, would scare it, and it would sink its deadly fangs into my skin.

Ten minutes went by. Twenty. It was getting lighter outside and more of the light was seeping into the tent. I realized that the 'tubes' that I had been trying not to step on, were actually toy snakes that littered the floor. It was another five after that before whoever was sleeping in the hammock finally woke up.

"Help!" I whispered. They spun around quickly, and I saw his face. Recognition struck. "Oh, Evra! Now I remember!" I cried, but then quickly snapped my mouth shut as the snake tightened its grip around my chest.

"Hey, it's you! That girl from that town!" Evra said suddenly. "Here let me help you. Don't worry about Bippo. She sleep crawls." He said as he unwound the creature from my body.

"You remember me?" I asked.

"Of course!" He said as he lay Bippo on the floor, where she slowly started to slither aimlessly away. "We don't get many kids, to see the show. It's very rare."

"Let's see.." He saud as he thought for a moment. "You're Lily Shan. Mr. Crepsley's assistant. I'm Evra Von."

"Evra Von?" I tested the name. "Just Von?"

"Yeah. Everyone usually asks 'Von what'." He laughed.

He led me through the campsite introducing me to people. Some I already knew from when I saw them on stage. Like when he introduced me to Hans Hands.

"Morning Evra!" Hans said cheerfully. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Lily Shan." Evra explained.

"_The_ Lily Shan!? You mean you're that famous half-vampire!?" Hans asked excitedly.

"Are half-vampires really that unusual?" I asked

"Nah. Half-vampires are nothing new." Hans said."But young half-vampires are."

"I'm not really that young." I mumbled.

"Could've fooled me!" Hans laughed. I felt my eye twitch a little.

A woman walked up to me holding a plate of sausages. It was the bearded lady. She said something to me in a language that I had never heard before.

"I don't...what?" I asked.

"She wants to know if you like sausages, or if you're a vegetarian." Evra explained. "I'm the only one in camp who knows what Truska's saying. But I'm still learning."

"I would love one!" I told her and grabbed one off the plate. "Thanks!"

She smiled in return and walked away.

Mr. Tall walked up on my right, holding a notebook. "Lily, I have decided that since you are a new addition for the moment, you can just help Evra with his chores."

"Okay." I smiled.

"Alright, we're partners then." Evra said as he slung his arm over my shoulder.

"Then it's settled." Mr. Tall said snapping his book shut before walking away.

After Mr. Tall had left I took a bite from my sausage, and burned the entire inside of my mouth. "Ow! Hot!!"

So for the rest of the day I helped Evra do whatever needed to be done. I helped his to wash Bippo the snake, and unfortunately, clean the Wolfman's cage. It smelled terrible in there and I could've sworn I lost sight in my right eye for a slpit second.

At the end of the day we sat on a grassy hill to watch the sunset. I wasn't really fond of the orange glow that it cast. It made it hard to see certain colors, and made the forest look like it was on fire. But Evra seemed to enjoy it so I didn't want to ruin his fun.

"So is it just you here?" I asked. "Or do you have parents?"

"I've never seen my real parents." He said. I felt like an idiot. "The first thing I knew was in a circus. It was a real wicked circus too. They beat me and treated me like I was a real snake. Locked in a cage and everything. Finally one day, Mr. Tall came and rescued me."

"...I don't know what to say." I said truthfully.

"See, Lily, everyone else here has a story. Just like you." He said with a faint smile. "There's nothing you need to worry about anymore!"

For some reason, suddenly when I looked at him, I was reminded of my family. And Stephanie. A wave of sadness rolled over me as I remembered the family I could never see again. I felt a few tears roll down my face, and I buried my face in my arms.

"Whoa, hey! Did I say something wrong?" Evra asked suddenly.

"No, it's just, I was remembering my old friends." I sighed.

Evra didn't say anything for a while. "Hey, want to see something amazing!?" he asked. "Check this out!"

I turned to see him sticking his tongue out further than I had ever seen anyone do. "Ewww! That's gross!" I laughed.

"Cool huh?" he asked and I nodded in agreement. "I can even pick my nose!" He said before shoving a good three or four inches into his nostril.

"Stop it that's disgusting!" I said laughing hard.

"Not really." He said. "My nose is the cleanest part of my whole body!"

"What you don't wash your hands? Ew!" I teased. "What does it taste like?"

"Lick my snakes belly. Just like that." he replied sticking his long tongue out at me and grinning.

"No thanks. I'm not that interested!"

--

**Mr. Crepsley POV:**

When I emerged from my tent, I found Lily making breakfast.

"Rise and shine, Crepsley!" She smiled at me. A genuine smile.

"Hello there, Lily." I smiled back, taking a seat across from her. "Why are you so cheerful this morning?"

"Well," she said smiling again. "I made a friend."

--

**Lily POV:**

After about three days in the cirque, I had completely blended in with everyone. It's like I've been here my whole life. Even though I tend to forget peoples names, we all act like family. And I have Evra to thank for that.

We were lifting crates to set up for the show. "You grab that big one there." Evra said pointing to a metal crate. "You can lift it easier than I can."

I reached down to life the crate, but it was harder than I thought it would be. Not drinking any blood was starting to really take its toll on my body. My senses were also getting slightly weaker.

"So much for that vampire strength!" Evra teased when he saw how much trouble I was having.

"I-I'm...fine!" I said gruffly as we walked through the campsite. I can feel my body losing strength more and more every day, but I don't care. I don't want to drink blood.

As we passed some bushes, I noticed a small boy was spying on us between the leaves. When he saw me looking in his direction, he quickly hid behind more leaves.

"Hey, Evra!" I whispered. I whispered a plan to him. He smiled mischievously and nodded.

"Okay, I'm leaving Lily. See you later!" He said loudly and walked away. "See you, Evra!" I called just as loud.

We both circled around to where the boy was and started making scary noises from behind trees and bushed. He looked genuinly scared. He jumped up and ran off.

"Come one," I said to Evra. "Let's go calm him down!" We followed him to a field where he collapsed in the tall grass. "Uh oh.." I murmured. We ran to him only to find him unconscious. "I'll go get help." I said as I got up. Something grabbed my leg and tripped me. Suddenly I heard laughing.

"I got you _so_ good!!" The boy laughed and sat up. I sighed with relief. "Y-yeah you did!" I laughed too. "I'm Lily Shan."

"Evra Von." Evra said, looking relieved..

"My name's Sam Grest! Nice to meet you." The boy named Sam said cheerfully.

He asked what we were doing in town and we told him about the Cirque Du Freak. He seemed very excited about it.

"I knew you were with some kind of circus!" He exclaimed. "But a freak show is even cooler!! You guys are the luckiest people on the planet!"

I smiled nervously but out of the corner of my eye, Evra looked a bit ticked off and annoyed.

I noticed that Sam was eating something out of a jar. "What are those?" I asked.

"Oh I'm sorry! Want one? They're pickled onions! There my favorite!" I took a onion from the jar and popped it into my mouth. It wasn't that bad. "Kinda tasty!"

"Hey!" Sam said excitedly. "Can you help me join? I'm a real hard worker!"

"Maybe when you're older-" Evra said.

"That's what they always say!" Sam whined. "Always wait 'til you're older!"

I had a feeling that Sam was only going to continue to rant unless we distracted him somehow. Evra seemed to have the same conclusion.

"Hey, Sam, want to go see my snake?" Evra asked.

"Do I? I thought you'd never ask!!"

We showed Sam around the cirque, much like Evra had shown me areound a few days ago. Sam was fascinated with everyone and everything. But when we went into the Wolfman's tent, Sam got scared. I could smell it, as well as the stench coming from the cage.

"W-what's that smell?" Sam asked.

"What's wrong?" Evra asked. "Don't you want a closer look?' I realized that Evra was trying to scare Sam.

"Nuh-uh!" Sam said and he ducked behind me. "I'm scared."

When it got dark, it was time for Sam to go. He looked hurt for a moment.

"Hey, Sam, why don't you come back tomorrow?" Evra asked.

Sam's eyes lit up. "It's a promise!" He said and then left to go home.

"Sam's a nice kid." I noted aloud.

"Yeah. A bit cheeky though." Evra huffed.

"You think he's fit for joining the cirque?" I asked.

"Not really." He replied. I had to agree.

"I'm glad I came back to join the cirque." I said. "Otherwise I'd have never met you Evra...Evra?" But Evra wasn't listening to me. He was staring at something in the woods. I looked and saw two rows ovf very short people, walking with lanterns. Bringing up the back of the line was a short man. Taller than the rest of the people, but I had maybe a few inches on him. He looked up into my eyes and smiled at me. I didn't like that smile, but I didn't know why.

"Who was that." I breathed after the little band had passed.

"That was Desmond Tiny." Evra said, fear lacing his voice. "That was Mr. Tiny."

--

Evra explained to me who Desmond Tiny was, after a while. He didn't get very far before Hans Hands told us that Mr. Tall had requested us both in his trailer.

"Listen to me Lily," Evra said as we neared Mr. Tall's trailer. "Whatever happens, whatever is said in there, don't talk back to Mr. Tiny! Just say 'Yes sir!' and be quiet!"

Evra opened the door and led the way inside. Mr. Tall and Mr. Crepsley were already inside. That didn't make me feel much better. Mr. Tiny was the only one sitting, near the back wall.

"Ah, you must be Lily Shan!" Mr. Tiny said as he stood and walked over to me. "I've heard so much about you! Sacrificing everything to save a friend."

"I'm no hero... Mr. Tiny." I said.

"Please none of that stuffiness. Call me Des." Mr. Tiny said.

He waited for a moment, like he had expected me to say or do something, but I only stared at him.

"By the way, Lily," Mr. Tiny. said as he turned to sit back down. "Larten tells me that you're reluctant to drink human blood. I don't blame you though, nasty stuff. Aside from young children, of course! Their blood is most delicious!"

"You can't drink blood from them," I said. "If they're too young, they could die."

"So?" Mr. Tiny said. "What's wrong with that?"

I was shocked. This man was evil. He was no man at all. He's a monster!!

After scaring the hell out of me with that little comment, he went on to explain his business at the Cirque Du Freak. He wanted Evra and I to take care of his blue robed people. He called them Little People. We are supposed to find food for them.

"And that's it!" He said finally, clapping his hands together. "We're done here, you may go."

Evra turned to leave, but I stayed put. Evra grabbed my arm. "Come on, Lily!"

I ignored him. "Excuse me sir...but can you explain to me, why you call them little people?" I asked.

Everyone else in the room besides Mr. Tiny, froze. "Why? Because they are little." Mr. Tiny said simply.

"Don't they each have their own names?" I pressed.

"I heard you were a pest!" Mr. Tiny spat as he rose from the chair again. "But nobody told me you were this nosey! You need to learn to watch what you say to people."

I couldn't back down now. Everything I had just done would have been pointless. "Why don't you make me?" I growled and glared at Mr. Tiny.

Suddenly my heart began to hurt as though someone were squeezing it very tightly. I clutched my chest, finding it hard to breathe. I looked and saw that Mr. Tiny was clutching what looked like a human heart, but there was a clock in the middle of it. He was squeezing the watch tightly, and I somehow felt that it was my own heart he was tormenting.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the pain disappeared. I opened my eyes to see Mr. Crepsley standing in front of me, holding me by the shoulders.

"No studies, straight to bed." Was all he said before Evra and I were pushed out the door.

"Are you _crazy_!?" Evra all but shrieked. "Talking back to Mr. Tiny like that!"

"You're right. I must be." I said as we walked back to our tent. My heart wasn't hurting anymore, but it felt exhausted.

--

**Mr. Crepsley POV:**

When Lily and Evra arrived at Mr. Tall's trailer, they were already edgy. Evra must have explained a bit about Mr. Tiny, to Lily.

_Good._ I thought.

Mr. Tiny explained what he was doing here. He wanted Lily and Evra to look after his people. But that was not all. I could tell that Desmond was hiding something. But without saying anything further, he dismissed Lily and Evra. But Lily did not leave. Instead she questioned Mr. Tiny about the little people.

She was stepping far out of line. Was she completely stupid or had Evra not explained anything to her at all?

Suddenly she clutched her chest and her breaths came short and ragged. I knew it was Mr. Tiny's doing. How dare he try and harm _my_ assistant! I flitted directly in front of Lily, blocking Mr. Tiny's powers from causing her anymore harm. I could not stand to see the pained look on her face.

I sent her straight to bed. She would need the rest.

I had never liked Mr. Tiny. But as of tonight, I absolutely loathed him. I will never let him hurt her again.

--

**Lily POV:**

The next day, Sam came over as he promised he would. He helped us with our task of finding dead animals for the little people. It wasn't easy looking only for animals that were already dead, but I didn't want to go and kill something in front of Sam.

As we were walking through the forest, something leapt from behind a bush and grabbed me by the ankles lifting me high into the air. "Gotcha!" My attacker laughed. Sam was also laughing, so I figured that I wasn't in any real danger.

After he had put my back on the ground, my attacker introduced himself. "Name's Reggie Veggie. I'am Sam's friend. But you can call me R.V."

R.V. is an eco worrior. So that means that he fights for the environment. Protecting plants, trees and animals. It's really cool. Back when I was still human, I was into that kind of stuff. I never went vegetarian though.

R.V. fed us some soup he had made. Tomatoes and beans. It was actually very good.

He asked us about the cirque. When he realized what exactly Evra was, he was concerned that the cirque was mistreating him.

"No, the cirque is like a big family!" Evra smiled.

After that we had to leave. Back at the cirque, a crowd had gathered.

"What's going on?" I asked Evra as we got a closer look.

"It's...Cormac Limbs!" Evra said excitedly. "He's back!"

"How's my favorite two legged reptile?" Cormac said walking up.

"Fine!" Evra said. "These are my two friends Lily Shan and Sam Grest! Darren's new in the cirque, and neither one of them has seen your act before."

"Never seen my act?" Cormac asked surprised.

"Give us a quick show!" Someone yelled.

"The crowd has spoken!" Cormac said. "But first a proper introduction. I'm Cormac Limbs!" He said, extending his hand to Sam.

"Good day to you Cormac." Sam said. Sam suddenld pulled out a knife and slashed at his own wrist, leaving Sam holding his severed hand.

"Whoa!" Sam said and he dropped the hand.

Cormac lifted his arm to show his bloody arm, where a new hand was growing out of the stump. "I can regenerate and grow new limbs!"

Mr. Tall walked up toward the group. "Listen! This is no time for discussion!" The crowd started to settle down. Sam and I walked toward Evra, and the croud got quiet. "Cormac Limbs and Larten Crepsley have rejoined the production!" Mr. Tall announced.

"Tonight the Cirque Du Freak show will go on!"

--

Sam helped us set up for the show tonight until it got dark. Evra told Sam that he would have to go because we were going to be very busy. Sam's face fell and he looked like he was going to argue.

"Wait Sam hold on a second." I said quickly. I tutned and started toward Mr. Tall's trailer. "Don't go anywhere!"

When I came back, I presented Sam with two tickets for tonights show.

"Are these what I think they are?!" Sam asked as he took the tickets from me.

"Tickets for tonights show! One for you and one for R.V." I said smiling.

"Okay I'll see you later!" Sam called and he headed home.

"How'd you get those?" Evra asked.

"I asked Mr. Tall for them."

"Come with me, Lily." Said a coive over my shoulder. I turned to see Mr. Crepsley. I hadn't recognised his voice. I left with him, and we went back to his tent, where he took off his cloat to reveal his circus clothes. "Polish Madame Octa's cage. And brush down your suit and clean yourself up."

"Okay." I said. "Why?"

"You are going on with me." He said.

"What?!"

"You can play the flute when it is Madame Octa's time to spin a web over my mouth. We are low on help at the moment."

I really didn't want to go on with Madame Octa.

"You look dredful and your clothes are tattered, but you will have to do..." He said glancing at me over his shoulder.

I caught sight of myself in the mirror on the wall. He was right. I looked sick and pale. "This is what happens when you avoid human blood..." Mr. Crepsley said appearing next to me in the mirror. "Even you must have noticed by now."

I looked away. "You may think you are making do with animal blood, but it will not last!"

I ignored him and headed toward the exit. "I'm speaking for your own sake, Lily." He pressed.

"I know that!" I snapped. "I...I know."

"Just make sure you are ready to-" He stopped and sighed. "Never mind."

--

The show was packed! Even though we were on the countryside, Evra says people always know when we're playing, so this was no surprise.

"We are up next." Mr. Crepsley sadi from behind me. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes." I told him.

Mr. Tall announced us to the stage. It was very bright and it took a second for my eyes to adjust. I could see Sam and R.V. from the crowd. Sam waved and I smiled at him.

Mr. Crepsley was talking about how poisonous Madame Octa was. To demonstrate, we brought a live goat onstage with us. Madame Otca bit the goat on the neck, and it fell over dead.

Mr. Crepsley started playing his flute. It was a soft flowing melody. Madame Octa crawled between Mr. Crepsely and I and started making zigzags with her webs, til we looked like we had been taped together.

Then I took over with my flute. Flute was not exactly my best instrument, but I did play a little when I was younder. I made Madame Octa crawl on to Mr. Crepsley's head. "Please be careful." He whispered and looked directly into my eyes. He was trusting me.

As I started playing, I felt my consciousness start to fade. It was the lack of blood. _Come on! Focus! Focus! We don't want to black out right now!_ I thought.

_We don't want Octa biting Mr. Crepsley!_ I almost stopped playing for a second, as realization struck, shocking me wide awake.

That was _exactly_ what I wanted! This was the chance I had been waiting for! To keep the promise I made on the night I was blooded. I promised I would kill Mr. Crepsley!

I glanced at Mr. Crepsley's face, where Madame Octa was. Climbing to his chin. It would be just a simple instruction. Octa was hanging from his chin by a thread of webbing. I looked away from her and back at Mr. Crepsley. My thought of killing him stopped.

I couldn't kill him. He wasn't as evil as I had first thought he was. I mean sure he forced me to become a vampire, but since then he has been helping me. He had been like a teacher and at the same time, a good friend. Not like Sam or Evra though. He was the friend for the more grown up part of me.

And he trusted me. I could tell for the look he gave me. I glanced up to where he had thrown Madame Octa. I made her spread out as she fell so her body didn't fall into Mr. Crepsley's mouth. I then made her spin a web over his mouth. She came to rest on his shoulder. Her fangs were so close to his neck, it would only take one bite to-

"Delicious!" Mr. Crepsley announced, shaking me from my thoughts. "Fresh spiderwebs are a treat where I come from!" He placed Madame Octa back inside her cage and everyone clapped.

I followed him offstage, heart pounding. I couldn't believe myself. I was ashamed for thinking such a thing.

When we were backstage Mr. Crepsley turned to me, blocking my exit. "You thought about killing me out there, did you not?"

"H-how did you know?" I asked, averting his gaze.

"It would not have worked. I milked most of the poison from her fangs before we went on. Killing the goat took the rest out of her." He said.

"Then.." I slowly started to realize what he was saying. "It was just a test? You were looking to see what I would do?!"

"I had to be sure." I said turning his back toward me as we walked out into the hall. "You have never taken human blood. You have not accepted the core fact of being a vampire. I had to know if I could truly trust you... That is why I had you come on stage. That is the only way I could think of..."

"I thought you were being nice to me!" I cried. I was feeling so betrayed. "...And all this time, it was just a test...nothing but a test?!"

"That is correct."

I snapped right then. I was so mad, and hurt. Confused. Evra walked up to where we were standing. "Hey, Lily! Good job on your first-"

I rushed past him and bolted to the exit. "What's wrong with Lily?" I heard Evra ask Mr. Crepsley. But either he waited til I was out of earshot or he never said anything.

Even if I'm never going to drink human blood. How could he do such a thing?

I felt like I was going to cry. So I went back to the tent Evra and I were sharing, and curled into a ball. Tears soaking into my hair.

--

I was dreaming I think. It would explain the bizarre things that I was seeing. I could hear Mr. Crepsley asking telling me that he knew that I thought about killing him. I could see Mr. Tiny and his heartshaped pocket watch. He squeezed it and it oozed blood. My heart started to hurt and soon the pain was unbearable. I grabbed at my chest and tried to breathe.

Mr. Tiny walked toward me, holding the heartshaped watch for me to see. "You seem to be terribly weakened." He said and my heart screamed in pain.

He grabbed my jaw roughly, forcing my mouth open, while holding the heart above my head. "Drink up, you'll never have a more delicious elixer! It's children's blood!" He said smiling.

"No..." I gurgled through the liquid. "NO!" I said loudly and tried to push him away. Suddenly I was aware of something glass being forced between my teeth. I bit down as hard as I could, breaking the bottle, and kicked my attacter into the wall.

I was burning up, still finding it hard to breathe. My heart was no longer in pain though. I looked at the person sitting next to the wall, and did not see anyone I expected to see.

"Mr. Crepsley?!" I said. He glared at me. "That bottle..." I said glancing at the broken remains of the bottle in his hand. "That's what you keep human blood in..." I was fuming now, but whether I was sick or just so mad, I couldn't tell the difference. "You were trying to make me drink!" I accused him and he glared more fiercely, showing his teeth. He reminded me more of a wolf than anything right now.

"That is right! I was going to make you drink it by force!" He hissed, confirming my suspicion. "If you go on like this, you will be dead within the week!"

"Shut up!" I yelled. He had gone too far already on stage. But this draws my line of patience with him. "Just try that stunt again! Next time I really will kill you!!" I growled angrily.

Suddenly my head throbbed, I hissed and fell back against my bed, trying to ease through it, waiting for it to subside.

"Lily," He whispered. "Look at you..."

I said nothing. Only tried to control the shaking that the throbbing in my brain was causing.

"Very well." He sighed. "If you feel so strongly, I will not bring it up again. You have lived a good life. The vampire gods will accept you."

"Vampire gods?" I sighed once the pain had finally stopped.

"Yes. When you die, your spirit will float free from the Earth and make its way to paradise." He explained.

"Float free?" I asked. He nodded. "Like releasing gravitions?"

He looked confused. "What?"

"Never mind." I said "Gods? Paradise? I don't think I'll be headed to any paradise."

"Drinking blood is not an evil act in itself... not unless you kill the person you drink from." He said. I listened for once. "And even then, sometimes it can be a good thing."

"Killing someone can be good?" I asked skeptically. He rested his arm lazily on his knee.

"When a vampire drinks a person's blood... he absorbs some of that person's memories, and feelings. It it a special ritual that can only be done at the request of a person who is close to death. We see the world the way they saw it, and remember things which otherwise might have been forgotten."

"You see," He said giving me a hopeful look. "It is a very good thing after all."

I averted his gaze again. I wasn't in a very trusting mood after his last two stunts. But what he was saying was starting to make a bit of sense.

"I will not order you to drink blood," He said as he stood up, and looked down on me. "But I want you to know that I was trying to do you a favor." He looked a bit sad.

"Just leave me alone." I said quietly. "Forget about me."

"I cannot do that..." He said. My heart fluttered a bit at that. "Though sometimes I wish I could. But if you truly want to be free of me... I will not stop you from leaving."

"Huh?"

"Really, I do not mind. In fact, I would prefer it if you did. That way you would no longer be my responsibility." He said. My hoped died again. "And if you do eventually die... I would not have to watch it."

My eyes snapped to the back of his head. We were quiet for s few minutes.

I sighed frustrated. "First you pretend to be nice, then you push me away. Now you act like you care about me and all. I have no idea what you are thinking sometimes. If only I could read minds like you." I laughed.

"I cannot _read_ minds, girl." He said. "I am not Mr. Tall. You were just that easy to figure out. If I couls read minds, we would not be having this problem."

He laughed a bit, and I found myself laughing a bit as well.

Suddenly my stomach growled loudly. I laughed nervously. Then Mr. Crepsley's did the same. "Hold on, I'll go make dinner." I said as I stood and walked toward the exit of the tent.

"Actually it is breakfast for vampires." He corrected me. I sighed playfully and went outside.

While I was making _breakfast_, Sam walked up to me. "Hey Lily!"

"Oh hey! How was the show last night?" I asked

"The circus was great! Thanks for the tickets!" He said. "You were really cool up there too!"

I laughed. "Thanks, Sam."

I saw Evra after the show. How come I didn't see you?" He asked.

"Oh...uh, sorry. I had stuff to take care of." I said. _Like stopping Mr. Crepsley from making me drink._

"What about R.V.?" I asked. "Did he like it?"

"Umm... R.V.? I think he did." Sam said, obviously unsure. "No I'm sure he did." Never mind.

"He didn't like it." I said.

Sam then told me about how angry R.V. had seemed at the use of animals in our show.

_Ugh! Of course! He's an Eco Warrior. That was a very bad idea! Idiot! Moron!_

"Oh but I loved all of the show!" Sam said quickly, interrupting my mental beating. "And I've made up my mind for sure now!"

"On?"

"I now know..." Sam said and he clenched his fists with excitement. "that I DEFINANTLY want to join the Cirque Du Freak!"

"I thought we explained this to you Sam. You are not meant to be here. It's not a place for normal people like you."

"But you are super strong and you can control spiders, but you look normal." Sam argued. "That's why I bet I can get in too!"

"But Sam, that's because I'm a half..."

"What?" He asked.

"Never mind." I said. "Look I'll go check with the owner. But I have to talk to Mr. Crepsley first."

"Really?! When?" He asked.

"Right now." I said. "Stay right here."

I put the _breakfast_ in two bowls and walked back in Mr. Crepsley's tent. "Here." I said and handed him one of the bowls.

"Smells good." He said. "I do believe you have learned a thing or two from me!"

We started eating. About halfway through eating I looked at Mr. Crepsley. "Um... Mr. Crepsley?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think of Sam?" I asked quietly.

"I have not seen much of him. He usually comes by day. He seems nice. Very bright." He said. "He's a good worker from what I have heard."

"Well, he... wants to join the cirque." I said.

Mr. Crepsley galred at me slightly. "I was going to ask Mr. Tall later." I said. "I wanted to know what you think he'll say."

"He will say that you will have to ask me." Mr. Crepsley said. "Children cannot join unless an independent member agrees to become their gaurdian."

"Then you could be his gaurdian." I said hopefully.

"Absolutely not! One child is bad enough!" He said firmly. "I will not take on a second. Besides, he is human."

"But he's my friend!" I said leaning forward.

"Oh? Tell me this." Mr. Crepsley said, as he placed his empty bowl on the table next to him. He straightned up a bit. "What happens when he finds out that you are a vampire? You think he will understand?"

"I do." I said.

He sighed. "You are not like humans. Humans and vampires can never coexist!"

"You wont let him join." I sighed. I rested my elbows on the table. I needed to find a way to break this to Sam.

"Very well." Mr. Crepsley said. "I will tell Mr. Tall that I am taking him in."

"What?" I asked. "Really?"

"On one condition." Mr. Crepsley said. I got quiet. "He has to become a half-vampire too!"

--

_A.N.: Oh noes! Poor Sam! Whatever, anyways. So I started a new school. And there will never be homework. That means there will be more time to write! :) I had to upload Chapter 8 twice because of mistakes. My Microsoft Office Word thing or whatever, is not working on my computer. So I have to write using wordpad. So please please please excuse my spelling mistakes. I r trying 2 typ gud! -_-_


	9. Chapter 9 A New Day

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak

--

Sam was sitting on a log where I left him. Eating his pickled onions. He smiled when he saw me walking towards him.

"Did you ask him!?" He said excitedly as he jumped up. "What did he say?"

"Well..." I said. He looked so happy right now, and I knew that I was about to spoil his good mood. "Let's take a walk."

"So what did Mr. Crepsley say?" Sam asked. I didn't answer, only kept walking. Eventually we came across a road.

"Look, Sam..." I said.

"Don't." He said quietly. He wouldn't face me, but I could tell he was trying not to cry. "Don't say it. It means I'll have to say bye for good. Won't it?"

"Go home Sam." I said sadly. "You aren't allowed to join the Cirque Du Freak."

"What's the problem?!" Sam asked as he turned around.

"The problem...is...me." I said thinking quickly. "At night I become like the wolfman. I have to be locked in a cage. I go grazy and kill people otherwise."

"You're lying!" He insisted. "After the show..."

"You didn't see me remember? I was already in my cage." I said.

"I can handle it!" I said. "I know you would never attack me!"

"Sometimes, I go crazy during the day." I added. "Mr. Crepsley and Evra are safe from me. They're very strong."

I walked over to a tree. "I could hurt you even on accident." I said as I ran my nails over the bark, leaving gashes, an inch deep, in to wood. I picked up a rock the size of my head and crushed it with one hand, sending shards and rubble falling.

"Please go, Sam! If you stay there will be an accident!" I said hanging my head.

"N-no! I won't-"

"GO!" I growled, making my voice much deeper than any human can go. Then in a normal voice I added. "I don't want to hurt my own friend. Don't you see?"

He turned and ran across the street into the sunlight. I backed into the shadows until I could no longer see him. Suddenly I was caught in another dizzy spell from the lack of blood. I slumped to the ground to wait for it to pass. Sighing miserably as the world swirled, and meshed around me. There was only about an hour or so of daylight left.

Someone stepped on a twig nearby. I could tell that they were wearing boots, and that they were taller and larger than I was. I stood up as my head started to clear. Out from the vegitation walked R.V.

"Oh," I breathed with relief. "Hi, R.V."

"Been looking for ya man!" He said. "Wanted to thank you for those tickets."

"Oh," I said. I turned and looked at the way I had just come. "Don't worry about it. As long as you enjoyed it."

"Oh yeah, great show man." He said. I heard something whooshing in the air behind me, and turned just in time to dodge a limb that was aimed at my head. It smashed into the tree where I had been standing, but then came flying at me again, knocking me a good ten feet.

I rolled to my feet and crouched, ready to spring into attack. I didn't even know how to fight. There was a red mark on my bicep where I had been hit. "What's your problem?!" I growled angrily.

"That's what I should be asking _you_!!" He spat. "How could you treat the wolfman the way you did? Chained up like a savage beast!"

"If we didn't keep him in that cage, he's be killing people everywhere!" I explained.

"If that's natures way then too bad!" He said.

"You can't seriously... think that way..." I stuttered.

"You people are the animals here!" He snarled as he grabbed me by the neck. Instinctivey I grabbed his arm. Appearantly I grabbed too hard, as my fingernails burst through his skin, spraying blood.

R.V. released me and howled with pain, holding his bloody arm. "Stong as hell!" He hissed. "Little bitch!"

"Look I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you!" I held up my hands.

"Stay away you freak!" He took a few steps back. "You _monster_!!"

I stared at the blood that was soaking my fingers. "What yould you know?!" I snarled and my eyes snapped up. "How could a human understand what we feel?"

I flung my hand at him flinging his own blood on to his face. "The wolfman would be _killed_ if he was anywhere except the Cirque Du Freak!!"

"Shut up!" He said ignoring me and grabbing the limb again. "Your precious circus is done for! I'll ram it into the ground!!"

"You...fucking..." I growled. He swung his fist at me and I ducked in front of him. "HYPOCRITE!!" I picked him up. All 400 pounds of him, and tossed him into a tree, which snapped in half around the trunk, and both R.V. and the tree went crashing a few more feet.

"Wha-What are you?!" He stuttered, shaking with fear. "You _are_ a monster!!"

I glared fiercely at him. "Yeah but I'm just a kid. You should see what the _grown-ups_ can do!"

He jumped up and ran. "Monster!" He wailed. "Police! Police!"

Throwing him like that had taken alot out of me. I stumbled a few yards before I took off running toward the cirque. I had to tell Mr. Tall.

--

**Mr. Crepsley's POV:**

When Lily returned, she seemed worse than when she had left. She told me that she had run into R.V. and that had led to a problem. I agreed when she told me that we needed to tell Mr. Tall.

I walked with her and we found him in the arena. I stood quietly while Lily told Mr. Tall all about her encounter with R.V.

"It's good that you told me." He told her. "I think it would be best if we left after tonights preformance. We've been in this town long enough I think."

"Yes sir." She said quietly.

"Don't be troubled." He said. "This isn't the first time we've clashed with the authorities. Now, Lily, will you inform the other members of the plan?"

"Yes." She said.

Once we were back outside, the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, leaving everything in a dim light.

"After you have told everyone the plan," I said as we walked. "I would like you to come find me."

"To get ready to preform?" She asked.

"No." I sighed. "I think it would be wise to teach you a thing or two about hand to hand combat."

"Uh...o-okay." She said, and hurried off.

**Lily's POV:**

After I had gone around camp and told everyone that we would be leaving after tonight, I went back to Mr. Crepsley's tent. By then it was almost dark. The moon was full, but not very high.

"Alright, I'm back." I said as I entered the tent. He was sitting in a chair in the corner, as though he had been waiting for me.

"Follow me." He said, and walked out of the tent.

I followed him out of camp and far into the woods. I figured it was because we didn't need anyone poking around while two vampires spar.

Finally after I could barely hear the commotion at camp, we came to a clearing. "When was the last time, you were ever in a fight?" He asked.

"Well..." I thought. "I've been beaten up before. I'm more of a defense kind of person."

He furrowed his eyebrows at his. "Besides," I said quickly. "Stephanie was the one who did the fighting, if it ever came to it."

"Well Stephanie is not here to fight for you!" He snapped suddenly, catching me off gaurd.

"And what if I was not there to help you either?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't.." He disappeared before I could finish my question. "Mr. Crepsley?" I called.

I looked around but didn't see anything. I couldn't hear anything either. He must have flitted.

I started walking back toward the camp. I really didn't know what else to do. Suddenly something slammed into me, pinning me against a tree. I looked at whoever it was, only to see that it was Mr. Crepsley, with one of his hands wrapped tight around my throat. Crap.

"Hey!" I struggled to breathe. "Let go!"

"If you want me to let go," He sighed. "You will have to make me. What are you going to do?"

He tighened his grip on my windpipe, cutting off my air. My vision started to blur and sounds became fuzzy and meshed. I pulled at Mr. Crepsley's fingers but they were tight and I couldn't move them. More in a panic than anything else, I used my feet to kick him away.

"Good!" He said. I fell to the ground. My whole body slacked into a crumpled mess of limbs.

"How's beating the crap out of me going to help me fight better?!" I growled.

"You can breath now. Right?" He said before disappearing again.

I'm really starting to hate that man again. I rolled to my feet and stood up, trying to brace myself for wherever his next attact would be. I heard footsteps behind me, and swung my arm above my head.

He caught my arm, so I swung my other fist. He cought that one too. When I tried to pull my hands away he wouldn't let go, so I grabbed his wrists and leaned back, using my feet to kick him over my head like I'd seen on T.V. To my surprise it actually worked, and I rolled over on top of him straddling his chest.

We both still had ahold of each others arms. I didn't know what to do now. Suddenly he pushed me straight up about fifteen feet in the air. Below me on solid ground, he rolled out of the way as I came crashing down. The force of the landing knocked the wind out of me. I slowly rolled on my back trying to catch my breath. To add to my misery, I started getting dizzy again.

He suddenly was on top of me like I had been on him, only seconds ago, pressing my arms down. "Something tells me..." I slurred slightly, as I finally got my breath. "...that you are enjoying this."

He got up and took a few steps back, laughing. "What would make you say that?"

I rolled over and sat on my legs. "You make it look so easy." I said as I caught my breath.

"Years of practice." He smiled. "Not to mention the scars that come from fighting."

"How'd you get that one anyways?" I asked, pointing to his cheek.

"Uhh... Here! Let me show you something you might be able to learn quickly." He said as he walked over to one of the trees. "Watch closely."

He swung his arm horizontally at the tree. There was a loud crack, and when he moved, there was a huge gash in the trunk.

"I think I already did something like that." I said remembering my encounter with R.V. as I stood and walked over to the tree.

"Let me see." He said.

I swung my arm just like I had seen him do. A numb sort of fire, spred across my fingertips. "OW!" I clutched my hand, my fingers now throbbing.

"Not bad." Mr. Crepsley said inspecting the mark I had left in the bark. The cut wasn't nearly as deep as his, but I thought it looked pretty impressive.

"Let us head back." He said. "I think this is enough practice for one night."

"But we didn't even do anything." I said.

"Yes, but since you are not drinking..." He trailed off, but I knew what he was going to say. "Besides, I still have to go on with Madame Octa."

"Okay." I sighed, and we headed back to camp.

When we got back, I went to help Evra pack our things. We were done in less than twenty minutes.

"What are you looking at?" Evra asked as he stood beside me.

"Just the stars." I said, gazing at the sky. "Where I used to live, when I was human I mean, you couldn't see the stars very well."

"I'll miss this place when we go." He agreed. "You can't see the stars that well in the city."

My head started throbbing again. I squeezed my eyes and pressed my palm to my forehead.

"Still not drinking human blood I take it?" Evra asked as we sat down on some of the crates we had been moving.

"I'll be fine, it'll pass." I said trying to sound reassuring.

"Look, I may not know much about what you're going through," he sighed. "but couldn't you think of blood as medicine or something? Just somehting you have to drink to survive?"

"I'm just afraid that if I drink blood, I'll change somehow. I mean, what if I killed someone?" The pain eased away.

"I don't think you could! You're not evil, Lily!" he argued. "Would you really let yourself die rather than drink?"

I didn't say anything. I had a feeling that he already knew my answer to that.

"I'd miss you... if you died, Lily." he said. He had his back facing me, but I could tell he was crying a little.

"I just... need some more time to think about it." I sighed.

"Well I should be going! Show's about to start." He stood up and headed off. "You sould go lie down. Get some rest, and I'll wake you when the show's over..."

I headed in the opposite direction back to our tent. My head throbbed again. "Really?!" I sighed. Despite what I had just told Evra, I could tell that it was getting worse. The throbbing pain and dizzyness was becoming more frequent. I could tell that I didn't have very long left. Maybe two or three days at most. Normal kids my age didn't have to worry aout this kind of stuff. All their problems consisted of were who they were going to date or what movie they wanted to see. It really wasn't fair.

As I passed by one of the tents, I heard a rattling sound. Like chains maybe. I ignored it at first thinking that someone was just moving some boxes or something. Then I heard it again. Definantly chains. Then a crack. I sprinted in the direction the sounds came from. They led me straight to the wolfman's cage, where I saw-

"R.V.?!!" I cried. "What are you doing!? Stop!" I moved to stop him but he knocked me away with just one arm.

"Stay out of this!" He cried. "I'm freeing this poor abused creature! I'm just following my beliefs! I've already called the police! You people are finished!"

"Stop, get away from there R.V." I said. "He'll kill you!"

R.V. turned his head and laughed. "Is that what you think?!" He reached through the bars. "I cut these chains and...and..."

He turned back toward the cage and pulled his arms back to reveal bloddy stumps. His hands had been ripped clean off.

Inside the cage, the wolfman chomped on his severed arms, grinning wildly.

"My hands!" R.V. cried as he ran off. I watched him run, waving his bloody stumps. Behind me I heard the cage rattle, and when I turned I saw that it was open, and the wolfman was glaring at me!

He lunged at me and I covered my face with my arms, waiting for the ripping pain. But it never came. I looked only to see the wolfman was gone. Behind me I heard him running into the woods.

_He's chasing someone!_ I thought. It couldn't be R.V. He ran in a different direction. _Then who?_

I stumbled in the direction the wolfman had gone, and came across a bag. When I picked it up, a jar fell out. It was pickled onions.

I looked at the name one the bag, though I already knew what it would say.

_This is property of Sam Grest_

--

Sam was in trouble. _How could you be so stupid Sam!?_ I thought angrily as I sprinted.

I had to follow the wolfman's stench, which wasn't that hard to do. Even for a human, you could smell him from quite a distance.

The scent led me to an abandoned train station. As I got closer to the building, I was able to find Sam's scent. I followed it to a train cart. Good. This might be able to hold off the wolfman. Not for very long though.

I stepped inside the cart, but I couldn't see Sam anywhere. I didn't want to make too much noise in case the wolfman was nearby. I made my way to the back, checking every seat. Something flew at my head to my right. I reached up and grabbed it. It was a metal rod.

"Sam!" I cried, relieved as I looked at the person holding the weapon.

"Lily!" He instantly dropped the rod and grabbed me in a bear hug. "Thank god you're safe!" I hugged him back.

"I'm sorry...I just had to sneak in..." He cried. Outside I heard a howl. The wolfman must have found our scent.

I grabbed Sam's hand with one hand, and the metal rod with the other. "We'll talk later. Rigth now we have to get somewhere safer. This cart won't hold for very long." I led him to the entrance of the cart.

--

**Mr. Crepsley's POV:**

I could not find Lily anywhere. I went to find Evra. He was getting ready for his act.

"Evra."

"What's up?" He asked as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Have you seen Lily?"

"She isn't sleeping in the tent?" He asked confused.

"No..." I sighed.

"I told her to go lie down just a few minutes ago."

This could be bad. Though she could have just gone off somewhere.

"Hey!" Someone cried as they ran in. "The wolfman's gone! Someone let him out of his cage!!"

In an instant, I flitted to the wolfman's cage. Sure enough, he was gone. The chains had been purposely cut. There was blood all over the inside of the cage, as well as a trail leading away from camp. By now everyone had caught up with me.

I almost headed in the direction the blood went, thinking the worst had happened to Lily, but I realized that this blood was not Lily's. I sighed with relief. But this meant that someone else had been here.

Following the wolfman's stench, I soon found a bag. There was a name on the inside.

"What's it say?" Evra asked as he walked up next to me. I only handed him the bag and flitted in the direction the wolfman had gone.

--

**Lily's POV:**

I couldn't hear the wolfman anywhere nearby.

"Look over there." Sam whispered, pointing to a rundown warehouse. "If we hole ourselved up in that warehouse, we might be able to defent ourselves."

"Okay, we'll hide in there and wait for help from the cirque." I whispered back. "Go!"

We jumped from the cart and started toward the warehouse. Suddenly Sam fell. I turned back to see the wolfman, half hidden under the cart where we had been hiding. He had his huge paws wrapped around Sam's ankles, grinning.

"Let him go!" I yelled and hit him across the face with the rod. He instantly released Sam and I pulled him away from the wolfman.

I glanced behind me at the warehouse. There was no way we could both make it at that distance. "Run Sam!" I said pushing him.

"What? No Lily, come on!" He said grabbing my arm.

"Don't worry! He won't get past me!" I turned to him and flashed him a small smile. "I'm a vampire."

He looked a bit shocked but to my surprise he returned the smile. "Lily..."

"Go now!!" I yelled facing the wolfman again. "Run!!!"

I gave my life once to save a friend. I'd gladly make the trade again. Besides, if this is how I'm supposed to die, then I don't mind. But I'm not going to let anything happen to Sam while I'm alive.

The wolfman came at me and I struck him arm across the face again, sending him back a few feet.

"Here's another!" I yelled, striking him again. Then I got dizzy. "No!" I gasped and staggered back. "Not now! Not NOW!!"

The wolfman saw his chance and swung a clawed fist at me, catching my left arm, ripping into my skin. He knocked me into the air with his fist, and I went spinning off into some direction, adding to my dizzyness.

_This is good._ I thought as I landed in a heap. _This is how it should have been. I'm glad I never drank that human blood. I'll save Sam, and die as a human!_

I closed my eyes waiting for the pain, but it never came. I looked up to see Sam bashing the wolfman's head with the metal rod.

"Why didn't you run, Sam!!" I yelled, sitting up.

"I can't abandon a friend!" He said. "We have to go together!"

The wolfman turned on him. "Oh no you don't!" I yelled and grabbed one of the chains around his wrist. "Get away Sam!"

The wolfman turned and knocked me square in the jaw. I saw stars for a moment. The last thing I saw was an upside down view of the wolfman lunging at sam, before my view went fuzzy and dark.

--

I slowly started to wake up. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear something.

_Munch. Munch. Sluurrrp!_

It sounded disgusting whatever it was. My vision started to clear as I rolled on to my back. My arm screamed at me. My whole body begging for rest. Suddenly I remembered what had happened.

I sat up quickly and saw the wolfman about ten feet away from me. I could see Sam's face behind him, covered in blood.

"NOOO!!!" I screamed! I grabbed a rock and threw it at the wolfman. It bounced off his head. He stopped eating and turned to glare at me. Blood was dripping off his muzzle. He bared his stained teeth in a snarl and jumped at me, so I ran at him. Someone appeared between us in a flash and using only one hand, flipped the wolfman on to his back. He didn't get back up.

Mr. Crepsley turned around to face me. "Believe it or not, I came as soon as I could, Lily."

"S-Sam!" I choked, and ran past Mr. Crepsley. Sam looked terrible. And I mean terrible. I could see his insides, there was barely any skin left on his stomach. "Oh my... God." I breathed as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"This can't be happening." I cried.

"I just... wanted to be with you... and Evra." Sam said quietly. "I'm sorry."

I knelt beside his dying body, and he gave me a weak smile. "I guess... I really wasn't.. meant to join..." He started coughing up blood.

"Help him." I begged, turning to face Mr. Crepsley. "You can seal up his wounds! Seal up his wounds!"

"I am afraid it is too late for that, Lily." He said sadly. "Most of his insides have been devoured... no doubt he cannot even feel the pain anymore..."

"No!" I turned back to Sam. "You can't die Sam. You have to grow up! You can still grow up, and be anything you want to be! You have your whole life ahead of you." I sobbed.

"He will be dead in moments." Mr. Crepsley sighed. "It is unavoidable."

I wanted to argue back, but I knew that he was right.

"But there is something we can do for his spirit." He said.

"Huh?" I sniffed.

"You must drink Sam's blood, Lily." He said.

I grit my teeth and glared at him. "I.. I wont do anything of the sort! Hare dare you suggest that?!"

"Do you remember our discussion?" He asked. "About what happens when a vampire drinks all of someone's blood?"

"Sam's dying and all you care about is making me drink blood!" I snarled.

"Think. Remember what I said?"

I thought back to our conversation. Realization struck. "They absorb part of their soul." I said quietly.

--

**Mr. Crepsley's POV:**

"Losing a loved one is hard. Once they are dead, they are gone forever." I sighed. "But if you absorb part of their essence, you will not lose all of them."

I could tell that she needed more persuasion. "He will live on inside of you..."

"You want me to kill Sam?" She asked looking at me. Her eyes told me everything.

"You would not be killing him. You would be keeping a part of him alive." I assured.

"Drink, Lily." Sam said suddenly. "If I can live on... inside of you, I want you... to drink. That way... I can be with you... and Evra, forever."

Lily still seemed unsure about it.

"I don't care... if you're a vampire. I mean... we're friends aren't we?" He breathed.

_A most remarkable boy._ I thought to myself. _It is a shame he must go through all of this._

Lily reached over Sam, and used her nails to make an inscision in Sam's neck. Blood spurted from his jugular, spraying over Lily's shirt. She leaned over him and began to drink his blood.

It truly was a bittersweet moment for me. I was glad that she was finally drinking human blood. I would not have to watch her die now. But at the cost of her friends life. She was crying now, but she did not stop drinking.

"Lily..." Sam said weakly. "When you said... you ate people... was that a lie?"

Lily did not say anything.

"Thank's for lying... to protect me..." Sam said smiling. "I had fun...I'm glad... I met you... Lily."

I listened as his heart slowed to a stop. He was dead. Lily moved away from him, and hugged her knees as she cried.

I pulled her toward me and held her. To my surprise she buried her face in my shirt and continued to cry.

For a long time I sat there holding her. After what felt like a few hours had passed, I realized that she was asleep.

--

**Lily's POV:**

I fell asleep at some point. I figure that I was out for a while. I know this because I awoke to find someone carrying me. It was still very dark. Probably late night or early morning.

"Go back to sleep." Mr. Crepsley said. "We are almost to your bed."

"What about Sam's body?" I asked quietly.

"It is being taken care of. Here." He said as he sat me down on something. I realized it was my hammock. We were back in my tent.

"Someone will be in here soon to fix your arm, I have to go and speak with someone." He said quietly and threw the covers over me.

After he left I inspected my arm, the best I could in the dim light. The bleeding had stopped, and the skin was scarred where the wolfman had ripped into my arm. Crepsley must have healed it with his saliva. It still hurt tremendously to move it.

--

Later Evra came to wake me up. It was time for us to go. I could tell that he already knew about Sam. Someone had bandaged my arm and put it in a splint while I was sleeping.

"Do you know," I asked as we hopped in the back of one of the caravans. "what they did with Sam's body?"

Evra gave me a sad look. "They buried him, and tipped off the police so they can find him and give him a proper burial."

I nodded and hugged my knees to my chest, staring at the hills as we moved farther and farther away from the campsite.

"That one over there." Evra said pointing to one of the little people. He was the one with the bad leg, that caused him to limp. We had come to call him Lefty. "He helped bury him."

"He's different from the others." I sighed.

"I found this." Evra handed me a bag. It was Sam's. "I thought you might want to have it."

"Thanks." I said, a few tears escaped.

"Look." Evra pointed to the hills where the sun was just peeking above the trees. "It's a new day."

--

After an hour or two I had gone back to sleep, giving my body the rest that it desperately desired. When I woke up later, the sun was high in the sky. We had stopped for a break just outside of a little town.

"I'm going to get something to eat." Evra said as he jumped down to the grass. "You want me to get something for you?"

"No." I said. My throat felt thick from crying. "Wait, hold on." I said as I started to get a sudden craving for something.

"I think, there's something..." I could feel a taste in the back of my mouth. I realized what it was. "Could you see if maybe they have, pickled onions?"

--

_A.N. So lucky us, we keep having snow days. My new school is in the same county as my old one, so my best friend and I are off on the same days. Yay and stuff. Anyways writing is going well. BTW thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews! Also if you notice that I have made a mistake *cough* like accidentally saying "Darren" instead of "Lily" *cough* be sure and point that out for me. hrm. School's going great. Saw Percy Jackson. I was all liek "NOOOO~!"_


	10. Chapter 10 Enter: Gavner Purl

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

It's been over a year since Sam's death. Evra and I are looking for food for the little people. One of them is with us new. We call him Lefty. The limp in his left leg distinguishes him from the other little people. He's different from the others. He help us bury Sam.

After I drank Sam's blood, I made the decision to live the vampire way. I have learned to accept human blood. I no longer think it's evil.

After Evra and I had fed the little people, I decided to take a short break. It was almost 8:00 PM. I grabbed my jar of pickled onions and went to look for somewhere to sit. I came by Mr. Crepsley sitting by himself, and decided to sit with him.

We both sat there quietly. I was munching away on the onions, when a knife was pressed to my throat.

"One move..." Said a voice from behind me said. I turned slightly and saw a knife to Mr. Crepsley's throat as well. "...and you're dead, Larten Crepsley!"

He only sighed. "Gavner, I heard you coming from a mile away!"

"Not true! You couldn't have!" the one called Gavner protested.

"Noboy in the world, breathes as heabily as you." Mr. Crepsley replied.

Gavner sighed putting the knives away. "Is that how you treat an old friend after so long?"

He smiled, laughing slightly. "Gavner this is Lily Shan. Lily, this is Gavner Purl."

"Pleased to meet you." I smiled.

"Frightning a mere girl. Is this how low you have sunk, Gavner?" Mr. Crepsley said.

"As cutting as ever! You'd think children were all I could scare anymore." Gavner said.

"I'm not a child though." I said.

He shrugged. "You might be surprised to hear that Gavner is a Vampire General." Mr. Crepsley said.

"What is a Vampire General?" I asked, confused.

"We keep scoundrels like this in line!" Gavner said, slapping Mr. Crepsley's arm playfully.

"The Vampre Generals monitor the behavior of the vampire clan." Mr. Crepsley explained. "If they find any of us killing innocents or using our powers for evil... they have the authority to judge the guilty."

"Judge?" I asked.

"They can kill the offending vampire." Mr. Crepsley said.

"Oh," I suddenly got a funny thought in my head. "You mean you could die from that one guy you killed?" I asked Mr. Crepsley.

It got quiet for a moment. Mr. Crepsley's face was priceless.

Before Gavner got the wrong idea I burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding!" I giggled, holding my hands up in defense.

Mr. Crepsley rolled his eyes. "That was not funny." He sighed.

"Yes it was!" Gavners said. He was also laughing. "I didn't think for a second that you would actually kill an innocent, but the look on your face was hilarious!"

We got quiet after a while. "Lily, may I see your hands for a second?" Gavner asked as he walked over.

"Uh, sure." I said, holding my palms up.

"What kind of joke is this?" He said suddenly. "This girl's a vampire!"

"But surely you knew. Is that not why you came to see me?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Of course not!" Gavner insisted. "I knew nothing of the kind! She's nothing but a girl!"

Before I could repeat the fact that I'm still not a kid, Mr. Crepsley jumped in.

"Why I did it is a long story..." He sighed. "Now I do not need to take her to the vampire council. You can judge my actions and pass the verdict, Gavner."

"_ME_ judge _YOU?_ No thanks I'll leave you to the council!" Gavner huffed as he sat down. "I've come on a different matter! It's a personal issue..."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I have no objections to speaking in front of Lily." Gavner said "But..."

They exchanged a short look.

"Lily, I must ask that you give us privacy." Mr. Crepsley said as he stood up. "Gavner and I have matters to discuss."

"Let me guess," I said giving him a weak smile. "_Adult_ matters."

"Please find Mr. Tall and inform him I shall ne unable to perform tonight" Mr. Crepsley said as he and Gavner started walking away.

"I'll tell you all about it as soon as Larten's back is turned!" Gavner said over his shoulder.

"Stop this!" Mr. Crepsley said as smacked Gavner in the back of the head.

"Only joking!" Gavner laughed.

_They don't have to treat me like a kid..._ I thought as I headed to Mr. Tall's trailer.

Evra did not see why I was so glum about this. "You finally get to perform by yourself!" He pointed out.

"That's true!" I realized. "Didn't think of that..."

"But your clothes are too casual. You need something more... flashy!" He said. "I've got an idea!"

"Careful with that you might hurt yourself!" I joked, recieving a flick in the ear. I laughed.

Evra drug me to Truska's tent and whispered something to her. She smiled ans nodded.

"Wait what are you going to do?" I asked.

"We're going to get you dressed up for the show!" Evra explained.

I thought about it for a moment. "Okay, just don't make me look like an idiot. That's your job... just kidding just kidding!"

Evra only laughed. "If it weren't for my scales I would think we were related sometimes!"

Truska took me back to a room where all different styles of clothes and costumes hung on racks everywhere. There was something for nearly everything here!

"Let's see..." I thought out loud. I reached out and grabbed something from one of the racks. Jet black army cargos. "I think we can do something with these..." I told Truska.

When I walked back to Evra ten minutes later, I was wearing the black cargos, with a black tank top and, army boots... black.

"You look like a goth army brat!" Evra joked.

"Good." I smiled, ignoring his jibe. "That's what I was going for. It was either that, or a pirate!"

"You can do the pirate next time." Evra said.

When it was my turn to perform, I walked nervously into the middle of the arena. I placed Madame Octa's cage onto a stool and unlocked it. I took a few steps back as she emerged. There was a collective gasp from the audience as she emerged.

"Yes, she _is_ beautiful isn't she?" I announced. "But also _very _venomous!" I warned. "One bite could mean death!" A few people in the first few rows shifted uneasily in their seats. To prove my point, a little person brought a live goat in the arena with me. I played a few notes on my flute and told Madame Octa to go and bite the goat.

She leapt from the stool and scuttled over to the goat. The goat bleated and pulled at the rope around its neck, but the little person held tight. I instantly felt bad for the poor animal, but before I could change my mind, Madame Octa sprang to the goat and sank her fangs into its neck. It wobbled on its legs unsteadily for a few seconds before falling over. I knew it was only paralyzed. Though in a few hours it would be dead.

The little person lifted the animal onto its shoulders with its amazing strength and hauled it away.

By now I was getting used to being in front of all these people. My nervousness was quickly fading. The worst part was over, so now I could perform!

The rest of the show went great I think. I made Madame Octa perform all the tricks I could think of. I even made her run up to one of the members of the audience and bow to him. He looked so terrified I could have laughed at his face!

After I had done everythign I could think of I made her bow one last time to the audience before bowing myself. "Thank you, you've been a wonderful audience!" I called. I made Octa go back into her cage and the little person came back to take her back to Mr. Crepsley's tent. I wondered off outside to see if Mr. Crepsley and Gavner had finished their '_Let's-Exclude-Lily_' conversation.

I turned a corner and headed away from camp towards an old building with broken windows and peeling paint.

"Hey, Lily!" Said a voice from somewhere above me. I looked up to see a figure on top of the building in front of the half-moon. He jumped fevi stories to the pavement in front of me. I could now see Gavners face.

"Hey." I smiled.

"I've got to be leaving soon. Will you take a walk with me?" He asked.

"Sure." I said.

We had gone a few blocks further than I had planned on going, before I decided to ask a question that had started bugging me since they ditched me.

"What did you mean about Mr. Crepsley being judged?" I asked.

"Larten made a mistake. He should not have blooded you." He said. "Children don't understand the nature of the risks they're taking. That's why we have a rule that children should never be blooded."

"What age does that apply to?" I asked.

He thought for a moment. "You know... I really have no absolute idea! I guess twenty."

"Well in another year I won't be a _child_ anymore." I said.

"How old were you when you were blooded?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Eighteen." I said. Then added, "Well I was about to be eighteen."

"You do realize, that for every _five_ years that go by, you only age _one_?"

He asked.

My eyes went wide. "UGH! I forgot about that! So I'm not even nineteen yet!" I ran my fingers over my scalp in frustration.

Gavner only laughed at me. I really didn't think it was that funny.

"Will... will he be killed?" I asked suddenly.

"Who, Larten?" I nodded. "I doubt it." He said. "He's widely respected, you see. He used to be a Vampire General. He was on the verge of being voted a Vampire Prince!"

"Prince?"

"That's what we call out leaders." He explained. "There are very few of them, and only the noblest and most respected vampires are elected!"

"No way!" I laughed. "Not Mr. Crepsley!" It was hard to imagine that the same guy who had forced me to become a vampire, was almost a great leader.

"But he stepped down before it could happen." He sighed. "And then he left us and disappeared."

"Why would he do that?" I asked, surprised.

"Nobody knows. Larten never gave much away." He said. "Well, I should be off..."

"You're leaving already?" I asked. "I wanted to hear more."

"Sorry. Larten'll scalp me alive if I say anymore." He paused for a moment. "Listen, Lily. No matter what happens, stick with Larten. He's a good vampire. One of the best. You couldn't hope for a better teacher. Stick with him and leeard everything he teaches you. It's the only way you'll live as long as he has."

"How old _is_ he anyways?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I think maybe.. a hundred... maybe two hundred."

"That old?" My jaw dropped.

"I'm barely past the hundred mark! I've got my sights set on a thousand though. Imagine trying to blow the candles out on _that_ cake!" He laughed. "So long, Lily!" He said as he walked away.

"Later, Gavner Purl."

He stopped about ten feet from me. "Larten will be on the move soon, himself." He said.

"Wait what do you mean..."

Suddenly he vanished in a blur. Flitted.

I sighed and turned around and headed back to camp. When I got back I went straight to Mr. Crepsley's tent. "Ganver's gone." I announced as I walked in.

"Yes..." was the only reply I got. Mr. Crepsley was sitting in one of the chairs, his expression was dark. He was thinking about something.

"He said _you_ might be leaving too..." I said, then automatically regretted it. I wasn't supposed to say that.

Mr. Crepsley turned his dark gaze to me. "Really? What else did he say?" He said glaring slightly.

"N-nothing..." I said trying to act normal. To my relief he stood up and turned to one of the shelves as though he were inspecting it.

"As it happens, I will have to leave the cirque for a while." He said. "You will need to pack as well."

"Me too?" I asked.

"I would prefer not to take you with me..." I said thinking for a moment. "...But I must. I may have need of you."

Sometimes I felt more like a burden than anything. I sighed, starting to feel miserable. "I don't want to have to leave my friends again..." I said quietly.

There was a silence for a while. I took that as my cue to leave. As I turned to go Mr. Crepsley called over his shoulder.

"Very well... we shall bring Evra along too." He said. "I trust you are agreeable with that?"

"But it's too sudden... don't you think?" I asked.

Either he didn't hear me, or he ignored me. I really hope he just didn't hear me. I hated being ignored by people just because they think I'm a kid,

"I will go and clear it with Mr. Tall." He said as he walked past me to the door. "You will have to explain this to Evra. Convince him to come." He turned and flitted away leaving me dumbfounded. I sighed defeated and ran off to Evra's tent.

He sat and listened as I explained what I could. "So what do you say? Are you coming?" I asked hopefully.

"Hmmm..." He sighed, then turned his head to me and smiled brightly. "Yeah!"

"Really?" I asked excitedly. "I'm not sure how long we'll be away from the cirque though."

His eyes lit up at this. "An extended vacation, then! I've never been swimming! Or to a movie theater! And I'm sure Sam will love it too!"

"Thanks, Evra!" He and I exchanged a high five. I always felt like an idiot whenever I did that, but I didn't care. I never left my friends hanging.

We had packed most of our things that were easy to carry. I left Madame Octa in the care of Hans Hands. I think he was a bit nervous about it!

"Is that what you're going to be wearing from now on?" Evra asked. I was still in the black army costume Truska and I had made. I had added a long coat to the outfit to cover my shoulders and arms.

"Yeah. I kind of like these." I said as I tugged slightly at the shirt I had thrown over the tank top. "Besides, most of my old clothes are wearing out. And I borrowed some clothes."

"Are you both ready to leave?" Mr. Crepsley said as we all met up just outside camp. I was surprised that even though this is the second time he's seen me since Gavner showed up, he hasn't asked about my new look. I thought it would be noticeable, but he seemed to be distracted lately.

"Yes," I said. "But how are you going to flit with both of us?"

"We are not going to flit." He said. "There is no law against vampires using buses or trains."

"I suppose not..." I said feeling very stupid.

We said our farewells to the cirque and started out journey to the big city.

Following Mr. Crepsley's lead, we soon came across an unfamilar city. Because of my heightened vampire senses, the noise and smell nearly drove me insane at first. But by the end of the first week, I had gotten used to it. And I could finally start enjoying a life close to my old one.

We get to sleep late and eat a big breakfast, because there was nowhere we needed to be. Then we'd cover up Evra's scales and head into town. At night we got to pig out on junk food and I introduced Evra to the wonderful world of T.V. and videogames. He never knew it could become so addicting.

Actually, not even normal people had it this great. They had to go to work or school.

Mr. Crepsley would disappear whenever he woke up. He would be gone all night and would come home tired in the morning. He would not answer a single question about where he went. He had never acted this secretively before. It had me a little worried about him at first. But he was soon forgotten. My attention on Evra and having fun. That's just how much fun it was.

It was early December. It had already been snowing for a few weeks. "Hey look." I said to Evra as I pointed to a store window. "A Christmas tree."

"I see it." Evra sighed.

"It's already December. Christmas will be coming soon." I said.

"Yeah." He said as we walked on.

"Come on, Evra!" I said smiling. "It's _Christmas_! You should be more-"

"More what?" He asked. "You cut down trees. Kill alot of turkeys. And pay a lot of money to exchange presents. What's the big deal?"

"You don't understand." I sighed. "It's more about spending time with your family."

"Yeah..." He said. "but what do I know about family?"

I realized what he meant. Crap. I had forgotten. Evra never knew his family.

"Heads up, Lily!" Evra said. Something cold and powdery exploded on my face. Water and slush dripped off my face.

"Now you're gonna get it!" I warned as I made a snowball. I chucked it at Evra.

"Don't throw too hard, Lily!" Evra yelped as it pegged him in the back.

"Watch out then!" I laughed.

After I won our snowball fight, we had to rush back inside to get out of the freezing cold. We changed out of our soggy clothes. Evra went to watch T.V. but I went to put my coat on.

"Where are you going?" Evra asked as I passed by him on my way to the door.

"Just out to look around in the stores." I said.

"Want me to go with you?" He asked.

"Nah, you can watch T.V. I wont be gone long." I said as I shut the door behind me.

_A.N. Yay so another chapter finished. I was going to say something else but I forogt it. Hmm... Must not have been too important... Oh! On another note, people have been wondering about the Debbie character. To answe all your questions: ...heh heh... You'll have to wait and see... :3_


	11. Chapter 11 Playing Detectives

Disclaimer: I do not own Cirque Du Freak.

I was already down the street when I realized that I was wearing my army costume. I had not planned on wearing that in public! Whoops. I continued on anyways. I wanted to find something to give Evra for Christmas.

As I peeked in through the store windows, I realized, I have no idea what Evra might want.

"Well hello, Sargent." Someone said behind me while I was staring through a window. I turned to see a girl about my age.

"Hi." I waved slightly, trying to be friendly. I really hope she didn't start making fun of me or anything.

"I like the outfit." She said.

"Oh," I glanced at my clothes. "yeah, it's a costume." I laughed.

"It's cool!" She laughed too. "I sometimes wear my Halloween costume when it was months ago."

"My name's Lily." I said as I extended my hand. "Lily...Crepsley." She shook my hand.

"I'm Dara. Nice to meet you." She smiled. "I've actually seen you and that other guy you're always with, the one with the mask on."

"Oh that's Evra!" I said. "He's my brother...Evra Crepsley."

"You two hang out in the square alot don't you?" She asked. "I live nearby and I've seen you two a few times from my window."

"Yeah. I'm actually shopping for a Christmas present for him." I told her.

"We can shop together." She said. "I'm looking for some gloves to replace the ones I lost."

We headed into the store I had been looking into.

We looked around the store for a while. Dara had a hilarious and or snarky comment for just about everything we saw, it seemed. I couldn't help but laugh.

"See anything your brother might like?" She asked as we headed down an isle of electronics.

"I don't really know what to get him." I sighed.

"Okay..." Sighed. "Anything he has been into recently? Books or movies?"

"T.V." I said. "Just... everything about T.V."

"How about a T.V. guide?" She joked.

"Actually..." I thought.

"I was kidding!" She cried. We continued looking around.

I grabbed a CD player from one of the shelves. "What about this?"

She seemed to do a double take. "A CD player?" She smiled, then realized that I was serious. "Why not an iPod?"

"A Whaaa...?" I asked dumbly.

She dragged me over to a corner where I could see small flat rectangular objects. They all had the word 'iPod' printed on the plastic underneath them.

"So, what?" I asked as I inspected the curious little devices. "These play CD's?"

"No... well yeah, sort of." She said. "You convert the songs from a CD on to the iPod and it makes it easier to carry around your music."

"How is it different from carrying around this?" I said holding up the CD player.

"It holds over five hundred songs." She said flatly. I felt my jaw drop.

"Five _hundred_?" I asked. "How long have these things been around?"

"I don't know. Five or ten years..." She trailed off as she looked at one of the iPods.

How have I never heard of these? They seemed so useful.

"How do they work?" I asked.

"Well you hook them up to your computer using a cable it comes with. And you can either download music from the internet or you can copy it from a CD."

There was the problem. We didn't have a computer at the hotel, or even at the cirque. And I doubt Evra would know much about the internet.

"I think I'll jmust stick with the CD player. It's cheaper anyways." I said as we headed toward the other end of the store.

"Makes sense." She said. "Now, to find my gloves."

We never found the gloves she was looking for. I suggested that we check another store, but Dara said she should be heading home. I glanced out the window. The sun was almost gone.

"I always love this time." Dara said as she followed my gaze. "It's like the city goes to sleep and another one wakes up."

With those words, I couldn't help but think of Mr. Crepsley. Were we the only vampires in this city? I stole a quick glance at Dara.

"Come on I'll walk you home." I offered. I didn't want my new friend to run into a vampire. I've seen a few creatures of the night besides vampires. In the back of my mind, I felt myself starting to think of the wolfman again.

"You sure?" Dara asked. I nodded. "Okay then."

We walked through the deep snow through the darkening streets. It wasn't long before we reached her house.

"Here we are." She announced as she walked up a few steps.

"Really? That didn't take long." I said

"I told you I lived nearby." She reminded me. "So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing, but don't you have school?" I asked.

"Not til the new year." She said.

_That's right... they're out for the holidays._ I thought. "Then I guess I'm free. Want me to help you look for those gloves?"

"That, and I was hoping to go see a movie with my dad. You want to come?" She asked.

"Uhh... Sure." I said. "I haven't been to a movie in a long time." Since before I was even a half-vampire.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then." Dara said. I nodded and she turned to go inside. "Later."

I started walking back to our hotel. I just hope this doesn't end like it did with Sam.

"Come on Lily!" Evra called. "It's almost time for your daaaaate!" He said in an annoying sing-song voice.

"It's not a date you creeper." I growled and threw a pillow at him, knocking him off his perch on the back of the couch. He landed with a dull thud on the carpet. "We're just going to the movies. Besides, her dad is going too."

This would be the first friend I made since leaving home, that was a girl and who was close to my age. I didn't want to think of it as a replacement for Stephanie, but in reality, that was kind of what it was.

"Juat act normal." Evra said as he pulled himself off the floor. "Tell her some jokes."

"Then what?" I asked as I pulled on my jacket.

"Give her a kiiiissssss!" Evra said in that sing-song voice as he made kissy faces at me. I grabbed another pillow from the couch and pegged him in the face with it.

"Now look at that!" I taunted. "It you were not making all those kissy faces and making fun of me, you would have seen that pillow!"

He jumped up and threw something at me. I blocked it with my arm and it landed on the floor. It was a pillow. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" I warned and leapt at him with the pillow held above my head like a weapon.

Our fight had lasted only a minute or two when Mr. Crepsley walked past us. "Oh, Mr. Crepsley, can I fix you something to eat?" I asked before Evra bashed me over the head with his pillow.

Mr. Crepsley kept walking toward the door as though he hadn't heard me. "Mr. Crepsley?" I said again.

"What? Oh." He turned an looked at me as though he just noticed we were there. "No, I must be going." He turned and shut the door behind him.

"I think something's wrong..." I said to Evra as I continued to stare at the door.

"Really? Ya think?" Evra said sarcastically. I threw my pillow like a frisbee into his chest as I stood up.

"I'm sort of worried about him." I said.

"Don't worry, if there's anything wrond he can take care of himself." Evra said. "I mean, he _is_ a vampire."

"True. Anyways, I have to go now or I'll be late." I said as I zipped my coat up. I grabbed a pillow off the floor so I could put it back on the bed.

"Don't worry about me, you two have fun." Evra said. "You two loooooove bir-"

He was cut off by my throwing the pillow in his face. "Later." I called as I slipped out the door. I heard a thump on the door behind me as thje pillow collided with it. "You missed." I called through the door, and darted down the hallway to the stairs.

After we found her pair of gloves, we went to go see the movie. "My dad bailed." She told me, :Said he felt sick."

"Okay." I said. "What are we going to watch?"

"There's supposed to be a movie about zombies out I think." She said as we rounded a corner and found ourselves at the theater. I could see the poster for the zombie movie she was talking about.

I was bored throughout most of the movie. I didn't enjoy the fake blood and gore, it wasn't very convincing. Dara on the other hand, seemed to enjoy it. She kept laughing whenever someone was killed.

She sort of reminded me of Stephanie that way. But it was a good thing.

After the movie I walked her home again. It had gotten dark, and we had to pass through some dark alleys.

"We're here." I announced this time. She walked up the steps to her house and turned to look at me.

"Would you like to come in? I've got some pretty cool video games we could play." She said.

"Could I take a rain check? Tomorrow maybe?" I asked. "I should be headed home to Evra and my dad."

"Okay." She said and stepped inside. "You should bring Evra. I'll be gone tomorrow but you guys can come over the next day."

"Okay, I think you two woud get along great." I promised. "See you later." I called over my shoulder before she closed to door.

I imediatly sprinted as fast as I could with my vampire speed back to the hotel, so I could tell Evra that I had made another friend.

I opened the door to our room and slipped inside. "Evra!" I called. I found him sitting in front of the T.V. "Evra, guess what?" I asked excitedly.

"Lily, I think you should see this..." He said. I could tell something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked. He pointed to the T.V. and turned up the volume.

A reporter on the news was talking. "...and it seems as though someone has been draining the victims of all their blood. Here we are live at the abandoned building where seven bodies were found, dead from blood loss. Can you tell us anything else, Sean?"

Another guy appeared with a building in the background. "The identities of the victims have not been released. It seems strange, but this almost seems like it would be the work of a _vampire_!"

I stopped listening to the report after that. Suddenly my thoughts were filled with thoughts of Mr. Crepsley, and how strange he's been acting lately.

Evra seemed to be reading my mind. "He's gone as soon as he wakes up..." He said. "And doesn't return til the sun's almost up. He never tells us where he's been."

"I know, Evra, but..." I ran my hand through my hair. "It can't be him. He's not like that."

"We don't know that." Evra said quietly.

I groaned softly. "The news reporter even said vampire!" I sighed. "Where is Mr. Crepsley now?" I asked glancing at his room.

"He left a few hours before you got back." Evra explained.

"So he might be out there rigth now." We looked out the window to the dark ciry around us.

"We need to follow him." I said to the window. It didn't answer but Evra did.

"We'll need walkie talkies..." He sighed, like he'd been expecting me to say that. "Or cell phones."

The next day I went straight to a store and bought cell phones and binoculars. Evra and I then spent the morning thinking of plans we could use to follow Mr. Crepsley. Then we had to wait all day for the sun to go down. Mr. Crepsley left as soon as it was dark as usual. This time, Evra and I left five minutes after he did. I used my sharpened sense of smell to follow his scent, which was not hard to do. Not many people could disrupt the trail someone leaves on _rooftops_!

"You see him?" I asked Evra over the cell phone. He was a few blocks over on another rooftop.

"Clear as day." He replied.

I peered over the blacony at Mr. Crepsley standing a few blocks away on a rooftop of his own, staring into the street below. Suddenly his image shifted to a shadow and he disappeared.

"Did you see-" I started.

"No it was too fast." He said.

"Damn!" I cursed into the reciever. "Neither did I."

We tried following Mr. Crepsley again for a few nights, until we were able to keep up with him.

I went over to Dara's house as promised and played video games with her. It was so nice to just relax in front of a TV sometimes. I had to lie and tell her Evra was sick. Really I just wanted to let him sleep.

For the next few days after that, we just stalked Mr. Crepsley. We noticed that he had two patterns that he follows. He'll either stand at the rooftops and watch the people below, or he'll walk the streets. As if he's looking for someone. Maybe his next victim.

Finally one night Mr. Crepsley started to follow someone. He followed a short fat man for a few blocks to a warehouse. The man went inside the warehouse but Mr. Crepsley stayed outside. He sat down after a while. Waiting.

"How long do you think this will be?" Evra asked over the cell phone.

"I don't know." I said. "I think he's waiting for him to come back out. Could take hours."

"Ugh." Evra sighed.

"I come sit with you while we wait." I said as I quietly made my way over to him. We sat there for a while.

"What do you suppose that place is anyway?" Evra asked.

"I think it's a slaughter house of some sort. I can smell cows and pigs blood." I said.

I moved closer to the edge of the building we were on to get a better look at Mr. Crepsley.

"No moves yet?" Evra asked.

"...no." I sighed. "This is starting to become irritating. Wait! The fat guy just came back out."

I watched as he turned and started walking down the other side of the street from where we were. On our side of the street, I saw Mr. Crepsley turn and follow the man, walking straight toward us.

"Shi-!" I breathed. I turned and grabbed Evra. "Go go go go!"

"What is it?" He asked as he turned to run.

"He's coming right toward us!" I hissed. I turned to see how close he was. "There's no time."

I pulled Evra behind a giant metal air conditioner. "Stay down and hold perfectly still." I said firmly. "Don't even breathe." I warned.

We sat perfectly still and listened. I heard Mr. Crepsley walk a few feet. There was a whooshing noise as he leapt to the rooftop we were on. He landed ten feet from where we were hiding.

He continued walking. Moving only my eyes, I glanced at him as he passed. My heart stopped. He had to have seen us. We were _right_ in his sights. Yet he continued walking.

We didn't move from where we sat until I could no longer hear his footsteps from nearly a mile away.

I lay on my back gasping for breath. "Please excuse me..." I gasped between breaths. "..while I restart my heart."

"I thought I was going to die." Evra said

I caught my breath after a few minutes. "Something's wrong. Mr. Crepsley would have easily noticed us. He's too focused on that man."

"Come on we need to find him!" I jumped up, getting my second wind. "I think he's going to kill that man!" I grabbed Evra's arm and pulled him to his feet.

"All right! All right!" He said.

I caught Mr. Crepsley's scent again and eventually caught up with him. He was still following the man.

The man turned and entered a building that looked like an apartment complex. Mr. Crepsley walked to the door of the bulding and stopped.

"Once he goes inside, we move in." I said.

"But, Lily..." Evra said.

"I won't let him kill that man." I stated. "Get ready to go. Ready?"

"Set." He sighed.

I watched Mr. Creplsey for a sign of movement, he leaned forward slightly."

"G-" I started but stopped short when instead of entering the building, Mr. Crepsley turned and walked away.

Evra walked into my back. "What? Are we going?"

"He's walking away." I said.

Soon, he disappeared around a corner and was gone.

"It's obvious that this guy is his target." I said.

"So why did he just leave?" Evra sighed.

"It doesn't make any sense." I growled at the place where Mr. Crepsley disappeared.

_A.N.: Sorry for taking so long. Been rushed lately and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down anytime soon. No worries, school is almost out. Anyone that cares, I just had my wisdom teeth pulled this morning. I can feel my stitches xD_


	12. Chapter 12 Enter: Murlough

Disclaimer: I do not own Crique Du Freak.

The next day we went to play video games with Dara. Evra was interested in meeting her. Wouldn't stop talking about her for nearly an hour.

We walked up the steps to Her front door and I rang the bell. I heard the echo throughout the entire house, and I sould tell where things were from the vibrations. Someone walked up to the door on the other side. The door opened to reveal Dara.

"Yo." She said.

"Evra, Dara. Dara, Evra." I said quickly gesturing.

"So, you're Evra." Dara said extending her hand.

Both Evra and Dara stood frozen. "Evra." I said. I nudged him with my elbow. "Come on, buddy. It's rude to stare!"

"What? Oh, sorry." He shook her hand. "I'm Evra."

"He's a snake boy." I announced.

"That's not a nice thing to say." Dara said. I could be wrong but I think she was glaring at me.

"But I really am." Evra insisted. "Honest. Watch this!" He said excitedly as he proceeded to lick his nostrils with his tongue again.

Dara and I both laughed, even though I had already seen this.

"Alright Snake-Boy," Dara laughed and led us into the house. "Come one we've got the games in the living room."

I leaned close to whisper to Evra. "My, My, somebody's drooling."

He shoved me back. "Shut up." He groaned.

We all played video games for nearly four hours. It was crazy. She had the newest game systems. Thing's I have never even heard of. Wii? What is that? When did the Playstation 3 come out? What is XBOX 360? I've missed so much technological advances.

My favorite games were the shooter games. Ones about zombies were the best. Another game was called Lost Planet. That was Evra's favorite. Dara seemed to have a million and one questions about Evra. How he was born with snake skin, if he could shed his skin. All was going great until Evra got over excited during a melee and spilled coke all over my pants. I feel I should mention that it was cold. All over my lap, sticky wet, and did I mention cold?

"How am I supposed to walk home looking like I just peed my pants?" I all but shrieked.

"Calm down." Dara said. "I have something you can probably wear."

"Thank you a million times over." I smiled as she led me to her room.

She opened a few drawers in her dresser before she found what she was looking for. She pulled it out and tosed it to me. Something small and black flipped through the air and I caught it.

"A skirt." I noted.

"Sorry. It's all I have that's not in the wash right now." Dara apologised.

"It's fine." I lied. "It's just been a really long time since I've worn a dress or a skirt."

"Just put it on." Dara said. "You'll be fine." She said as she walked out, closing the door behind her.

I stared at the skirt for a few minutes. Last time I had worn a skirt... I don't even remember. A dress... probably ten or eleven years ago for sunday school.

I sighed and started changing into the skirt. It was surprisingly comfortable, and went well with the shirt I was already wearing.

I walked out of the room and headed back to the living room where I could hear Evra and Dara talking. They had already started playing something.

"Okay." I sighed as I returned to me seat on the couch and grabbed my controller. "How's it look?"

"...no comment." Evra said.

"You look fine." Dara insisted as she smacked Evra on the head.

"Hey! I love doing that!" I said as I lightly smacked Evra.

"Why must you hurt me in this way?" Evra sighed and Dara giggled.

"Okay, back to reality." I said as I grabbed my controller again and we all turned our attention to the TV. "Whose butt do I get to kick first?"

Okay so both Evra and Dara kicked my butt at video games. That doesn't mean I didn't have fun playing.

I'm starting to get the feeling that Evra might like Dara. Then again I could be way wrong. But you didn't see the way he was practically drooling over her. And the way she giggled at all of his jokes- OH MY GOD they like like each other! Not like. Like like. The other "L" word. I was jealous. Not of Dara or Evra. Of Dara and Evra. Of what they would have. I wanted that with someone.

"Helloooooo?" Evra sang as he snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Lily."

"What? Oh, sorry." I said as I rubbed my eye with the heel of my hand. "Must've zoned out for a minute."

"What? Did you stay up late last night or something?" Dara asked.

_Or something._ I thought bitterly as I remembered about Mr. Crepsley and the news report.

"We both did." Evra interjected. "I guess we never realized how addicting TV could be."

I glanced out the window, then at the clock. The sun had not quite gone down, and it was 6:00. "We should probably be heading home." I said.

"Really?" Evra asked.

"_Dad_ is probably wondering where we are." I said. Evra caught my meaning.

"You didn't tell your dad where you were going?" Dara asked, surprised.

"Well he sleeps all day. He has a night shift."

"Oh."

"Well we should be free tomorrow." Evra saud hopefully.

"Actually my mom has relatives coming from out of town." Dara said. "But the day after you can come over again. Hold on." She said as she left the room. When she returned she pushed a piece of paper into Evra's hands.

"You guys can call me. Day after tomorrow." She smiled.

"Sweet." Evra said quietly. I think I was the only one that heard him.

"Okay, so we'll see you, the day after tomorrow." I said as she walked us to the door.

"Later." Evra said behind me.

"Bye." Dara replied. She shut the door once we were on the sidewalk.

"Okay," Evra said. "That was officially the most fun I have had, ever!"

"Glad you had fun." I said. "But we need to hurry back to the hotel." I said as I pointed at the setting sun. "We don't want to lose Crepsley before we even leave the hotel."

"I think that could go under the definition of 'Epic Fail'." Evra agreed.

We sprinted all the way back to the hotel. It was about three blocks. Evra was out of breath by the time we made it to the lobby. I guess that leaves out the stairs.

When we reached our room I immediately checked to see if Mr. Crepsley was awake yet. Luckly for us, he wasn't.

"I think that little run will do us well." I said after we had sat on the couch for a few good minutes.

"Like a warm up for tonight." Evra agreed. He flipped through a few channels before stopping on some program about string theory. It was mostly understandable, but I couldn't focus. We were waiting on Mr. Crepsley to leave and my nerves were on edge.

Finally around 7:30 he emerged from his room, already dressed, and headed straight for the door. After he dissappeared, and walked to the stairs, Evra and I jumped up to follow.

We caught up with him about fifteen minutes later. He was headed back toward the warehouse that the man worked at.

Mr. Crepsley stood on a building a few rooftops away from us where he could see the entrance to the warehouse. I could still smell the blood.

"How long is he just going to stand there?" Evra asked after about ten minutes of tedious silence.

"You ask me like you think I know the answer." I grumbled.

"Hey look!" He whispered excitedly as he pointed to the warehouse. "That man is back."

We watched as the man entered the building. At first it looked as though Mr. Crepsley was just going to stand there waiting again like last night. But suddenly he jumped from the rooftop and landed perfectly on the ground, before following the man inside.

I sighed and leaned against the air conditioner behind me. "You know what this means?" I asked.

"Yes." Evra replied.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a knife that I had found in an alley a few nights ago following Mr. Crepsley.

Evra eyed the blade for a moment. "Are you sure about this?"

"If he's the one killing people here, its up to me to stop it." I said.

"Only if you are one hundred percent sure." Evra insisted.

"I am." I said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"One hundred percent." I promised.

"... Are you completely-"

"Evra!"

"Okay..." He sighed. "I'm going to go with you."

"No."

"No look over there." He said as he pointed to some windows on the side of the warehouse. "That's a storage room or something. I can wait there."

I looked at the windows for a moment. "Alright. Be careful."

I took off for the adge of the rooftop and jumped between the building I was on and the one next to it. I landed on a window sill. I turned and jumped to another one below me on the opposite side. When I reached the bottom, I sprinted and jumped through the door after Mr. Crepsley and the human.

Inside the warehouse, the smell of meat and blood was much more overpowering. It hit me full blast and I struggled not to gag at first. I covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve and advanced farther inside.

There were rows of bodies hung on racks. Not a single one of them had skin or fur on it, but I couls still make out some of the shapes. Far ahead of me I could see the man. He was holding a clipboard and was alternating between scribbling away on it and glancing at the racks in front of him. Not more that ten feet behind him, ducked behind a chuck of meat on a rack, was Mr. Crepsley.

Everytime the man moved along a rack, he followed. I circled around, keeping low, until I was fifteen to twenty feet behind him. I needed to move closer but I couldn't risk being heard.

He crouched low and took a few small steps toward the man. I slowly and quietly stalked forward a few more steps until I was right behind him, and I mean _right_ behind him. If he turned around, we would be face to face, and I'd probably be dead the next second.

The man was still scribbling away on his clipboard. Oblivious to the danger he was in.

I watched and listened closely as both men moved around in the warehouse, keeping close and ready to step in.

Suddenly as I watched, Mr. Crepsley crouched low and I could see his muscles tense. He was definantly ready to attack.

Before he could leap I ran a few steps and sprang at him thrusting the knife at his back. Instead of going through him like I had expected, the knife grazed his arm and then disappeared from my grasp and I was twisted and slammed into the floor knocking the breath out of me.

It felt like my spine and rib cage had been crushed to dust. I gasped and looked up to see where the train that must have hit me had gone. Instead of a train, I see Mr. Crepsley.

...shit.

Something crashes from far above us and suddenly glass is raining around us. There was a thud as something heavy landed a few feet to my left. Out of my peripheral vision I saw a shadow fly behind Crepsley's head and suddenly he was thrown away from me.

I looked over to where he had landed. He was on his feet and in front of him was a huge, and I mean twice the size of Crepsley, purple man with glowing red coals for eyes. Behind me I could hear the human tripping over himself as he turned to run, then he fell and was silent. I turned to discover that he had knocked himself out somehow.

For a moment it looked like the purple man and Mr. Crepsley were going to fight, but suddenly the purple man turned and jumped three stories to the roof through the window he had just crashed through. Mr. Crepsley followed and disappeared. I was alone for a few minutes. I couldn't follow, I'm still only half vampire. Mr. Crepsley appeared above me on the roof and jumped to the floor next to me.

He started walking toward me, brisk and stiff, then reached out his hand and struck me hard against my cheekbone with the back of his hand.

"What is the matter with you?" He roared.

"What do you mean?" I asked starting to back away as he advanced. I was getting that flip-flop feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that I had done something very, VERY bad.

He wrapped his long fingers around my neck in a vice grip. "Y-you're...choking-" I rasped. "And why should I not? He got away!" He yelled shaking me by the shoulders. his grip so tight it was making my arms go numb. At least I could breathe again. "It took me a whole week!". He growled through his teeth and embedded his fist into the wall a foot from my head. I jumped when I heard the impact. He started to pace furiously. "A whole week just to find him and now my chances of ever seeing him again are slim to none!" He turned to face me, eyes blazing. He grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me off the ground so we were face to face. I was starting to feel a little dizzy from the nice little blow to the head. Not as bad as the Wolf-Man though. Nice to see he was showing some restraint.

"Why did you do it?" He hissed. If looks could kill...

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." I apologized. My cheek was still stinging. It hurt everytime I closed my eye. The sting itself made my eyes water.

"You 'didn't _know_'?" He said in disbelief. He shoved me against the wall, still above the ground. This was a new side of Crepsley to me. My collar started ripping under my weight. I also started to shiver because, hey, skirts don't really provide much warmth when you are in a giant freezer.

"How _could_ I know?" I snapped. "You explain to me how I'm supposed to know anything when you wont even talk to me!" My backbone was digging into the wall.

He froze and didn't say anything. So I continued.

"You're up and off as soon as the sun sets and then you're not back til morning when you go straight to bed. You never tell us where you've been or why you've been acting so strangly."

He sighed.

"We saw a report on the news. Bodies had been found that were completely drained of blood. With you being so mysterious lately, how could I not think that you were the one killing people?"

"I... you are right." He sighed staring at the concrete floor.

Woah, hold up. Crepsley said I was _right_? I pinched myself but nothing changed. He really just said that.

"What exactly is going on here?"

-{hyphens not working to seperate stuff so I use this sentence instead} **Mr. C POV**

"You meant to kill me?" I asked looking at the knife on the floor where she had dropped it.

"Uhh.. y-yeah." She said. She had embarrassment written all over her face. "In a worst case scenario."

"You're a reckless young woman. But of course I already knew that when I took you on as my assistant." I said with a small laugh.

She pointed to the hold in the wall I had created. "You meant to kill me?" She joked. I will admit I had been acting childish. "No." I smiled.

"Will you be okay?" She asked pointing to the cut on my arm. I had completely forgotten about it until she mentioned it. Recognition brought the stinging pain.

"I will live, if that is what you mean." She smiled in response, then winced. Probably the red spot now forming on her cheek.

She sighed and looked at the broken glass scattered about the floor. "Who... and what was that guy?"

"His name is Murlough. He is a Vampaneze." I said. His name left a bad taste in my mouth.

"Vampaneze?" She asked.

"It is a long story." I said as I turned to leave. "We do not have time. Later-"

"No!" She interrupted. I turned and gave her a stern look.

"I almost killed you because I didn't know what was going on! I feel like I'm being blindfolded. I need an explanation!"

I sighed and glanced at the moon through the broken window. She was right. I looked back into her pleading eyes. "Yes. I cannot hold secrets for you any longer." I said. And it was true. "Where should I start?"

"What is a Vampaneze?" She asked

He explained what a Vampaneze was, sure. But I wasn't expecting a history lesson. Vampaneze, he explained, we like Vampires, except that unlike Vampires, Vampaneze kill the person they drink from. They believe that there is something noble about absorbing the spirit and memories of someone.

There was a war over it. And the very humans that the Vampires were trying to protect, wound up getting in the way. Humans couldn't tell the difference between the two, and when a Vampaneze killed a human, they retaliated by turning and attacking both Vampires and Vampaneze. With their numbers and weapons, the humans were on the verge of completely wiping out both races, So the leaders of the races met and declared a truce.

"Time has changed the Vampaneze and their appearance." He said.

"Like Murlough?" I asked.

"Not all Vampaneze are as colorful as Murlough." He chuckled. "The skin and eye color are a side affect of the amount of blood they drink."

"So... Vampaneze are the reason that Vampires have such a bad reputation." I said.

"Not entirely. We think of them more as misguided cousins." He said. "They are just living according to their beliefs and laws."

"So then how do you tie into all of this?" I asked as I started to piece the puzzle together.

"I was going to kill him." He said. "Murlough is mentally insane. He is killing needlessly and overfeeding. Look at the left cheeck of this man." He said pointing to the man on the floor.

I leaned over his head and stared blankly. Mr. Crepsley walked up behind me and pointed to three scratches. They didn't look out of the ordinary to me.

"This is the mark of their prey. They select their prey in advance and then mark them." He said. "Murlough may be insane, but he is still keeping to the Vampaneze way. Not only that, but he is also craftier than most. I was lucky enough to spot the man, so all I had to do ws follow..."

"And then I showed up." I sighed.

"I suppose I will have to settle for this, after all my hard work." He said as he headed back through the rows of carcasses, back to the entrance.

"You're not going to follow him?" I asked, shocked.

"Murlough is no fool. He will be leaving the city as we speak." He said, not slowing or stopping.

"But, isn't that more of a reason to follow him?" I asked. "He's going to terrorize another city."

"It is not my place to worry about creatures such as him." He sighed.

"Then why get involved in the first place?" I asked. "Why _this_ particular city?"

He stopped, we had reached the door. "Because this is the city where I was born." He said and walked through the door.

I followed after a moment.

"I lived here as a human." He said as we stopped in the middle of the parking lot. "Though everyone I knew then has long since died... This is the place I consider home."

I stared blankly around me, trying to imagine the world of two hundred years ago. Mr. Crepsley turned and gave me a questioning look.

"Sorry, just having trouble imagining you as a kid." I laughed.

"Did you just think I popped into existance?"

"No! I just never took the time to think aobut where you might have come from." I said laughing. I only recieved a smile in response.

"I do not think we should return to the Cirque Du Freak immediately." He said. "I am not against spending Christmas here."

I must have had a look of surprise on my face.

"I couls hear you through the walls every day going on and on about Christmas." He said. "You disturbed my sleep most of the time."

I laughed again. "I'm sorry. I'm sure Evra will- Oh crap! Evra! I completely forgot!" I turned and ran around the side of the building.

"The snake-boy knew about this too?" Mr. Crepsley said from behind me. I nodded. "Hurry and get him. You wll have to explain the truth."

"Yeah. He'll be so glad to hear that you're innocent!" I said as I rounded another corner to a hallway.

"Evra!" I called. No answer.

"Hey, Evra!" I called again. "It's safe to come out now." Still no answer. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the walkie-talkie.

"Evra?" I asked.

_"...Evra?.."_ My voice came from a corner on the other side. "This... is creepy..." I mumbled.

I walked back to the corner. No Evra, only his walkie-talkie. "Oh no..." I breathed.

"What is it?" Asked Mr. Crepsley. I picked up the walkie-talkie and handed it to him. He sniffed it and his expression went dark. "This is Murlough's scent." He growled.

"Murlough has Evra?"

"If so, Evra may be dead."

_A.N.: Oh noes! Poor Evra! So yeah If you can't already tell, I am doing a bit of an EvraOC here. Maybe. Tell me what you think. Plus I apologise for the long wait. Can't say it wont be happening again actually. I'm sorry to have to say that it is to be expected in the future. Applying for a new job, and trying to get my license... so... wish luck xP_


	13. Chapter 13 A Christmas Feast

I still do not own the Cirque Du Freak series.

I've already lost two friends. But when you think about it, Steve isn't dead, and part of Sam will always be with me. So when I heard Mr. Crepsley say that Evra might already be dead, I knew that if he was, then this was for real this time.

By the time we returned to the hotel, the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. I don't know about Mr. Crepsley, but I was too nervous to sleep. I couldn't just sit around either. By about twelve, my nerves seemed to be screaming at me, so I decided to go for a walk. I changed into jeans and a t-shirt and threw my jacket over my head.

The streets were busier than normal. But that much was to be expected seeing how Christmas is just a few days away. The cold felt nice for a change. My face was still hot from crying, but I'm pretty sure my boogers were freezing in my nose.

"Hey! Lily!" Dara's voice called from behind me. I turned to see her wearing an excited smile. She sauntered over to me, happy as can be. "So!" she huffed. "Excited about Christmas Eve tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I thought for sure it was a few more days."

"You can't be serious!" Dara gaped at me. "You're just messing with me!" She laughed and playfully hi my shoulder.

"Yeah." I said.

"Lily... your face is pale..." She said.

"My face is always pale."

"I mean more so than usual. And your eyes... have you been crying?"

"No. No crying." I lied.

"So you guys are going to bring your dad over right?"

"I don't know."

"But Evra said you would."

"Look, I'm sorry Dara, but I just remembered something really important I had to do!" I said and started quickly back to our hotel. "I'm really sorry! I'll call you!" I called over my shoulder as I sprinted.

"Don't forget about tomorrow!" She called back. "We'll be waiting for you!"

I slowed to a stop after I was a few blocks away from her. I turned into an alley, luckly there was nobody else in it. I needed a place to cry.

As I slumped against the brick wall, I heard shuffling from the grate on the ground.

"Hey!" The grate called in a gutteral voice. "Lily Shan!"

I looked to where the voice was coming from.

"I like your little friend. Very tasty looking." The grate called. "Much tastier than other friend, Snake-boy, hmmm?"

I ran over and gripped the metal in my fingers. "Murlough!" I growled as I struggled with the grate, trying to rip it to shreds.

"Heh heh heh!" He gurgled in a weird laugh. "Do you think she likes purple?"

I ripped the grate away from the concrete and heaved it at the wall behind me, before leaping into he hole I had created.

It was dark and I could hear and unfortunately smell the sewage water rushing all around me. The only light was coming from the hole where the grate used to be, but was now jaggedstrips of metal which now resembled threatening teeth.

Murlough laughed behind me. I turned and bared my teeth.

"Back now." He said as he stepped a bit out of he shadows. He was towering over me easily, looking exactly like when I las saw him. Strange purple skin and all. "Any closer," He warned as he wagged his finger at me like I was an insolent child. "And that'll be he end of Snakey!"

I clenched my teeth together, but stayed put. "So you mean Evra's still alive?"

"Of course. Young Murlough 's got plenty of patience, yes he has!" He cackled. "There will be no easy death for Snakey."

He lifted his hand almost into the light. "See this?" He said. I looked at what he was holding. "Snakey's scales! Every time I pull one off 'Lily! Crepsley!' He screams so loud!" He was cackling again. I felt sick thinking of what Evra might be going through.

"Prove to me that he's alive." I snarled, sounding more fierce that I felt.

"Vampaneze do not lie. If I say he's alive, then he's alive." He said. "But only until Christmas. Then, he's dead!" He started giggling to himself. Then he suddenly yelled out. "But I wanted to drain the fat man!" He banged his fist into the wall. "You and that foolish medling vampire ruins my glorious plans!" He turned to me. "What happened to the other vampire?"

"You mean Mr. Crepsley?" I asked.

"Yes, Crepsley. Larten Crepsley, hmm?" He was quiet for a moment. "You look like a sharp young vampire. Not nearly as sharp as young Murlough... but I think we can make a deal, can't we?"

"Simple swap." He said. "If you want Snakey back, you give me Crepsley."

"Like hell I will!" I snapped. "I'll give you _me_ for Evra! Why not that?"

"I don't care about you!" He roared. "Your half-vampire blood is useless to me! I want Crepsley! I want to rip him to shreds!" He glared at me. "That foolish insane vampire broke our laws! Bring Crepsley to me, _now_!"

"You'll get me for Evra," I said, scraping my very being for any courage I had left. "or you'll get nothing at all."

He had a crazy look in his eye, more so now than ever, as he giggled to himself, before he leapt at me. "Then I'll kill you instead!"

He took one swipe at me with his massive hands. I barely managed to dodge falling to the floor, recieving a few small scratches from his claws.

"Heh heh heh... but not yet." He said as he shrank back into the shadows. "I'll kill you later, along with Crepsley and Snakey! I think I'll eat your tastey little friend too!"

"You wont!" I hissed.

"Just wait an see!" He said. I could still see his red glowing eyes in the darkness. "It will be a very good Christmas feast... wont it Lily Shan!"

"Murlough!" Spat Crepsley as we scaled the rooftops. "That rat! I did not think he would still be here..." We jumped to another building. "It is unfortunate that you refused to swap me for Evra, however. We couls have laid a trap..."

"You know I couldn't do that." I sighed as I picked up speed for the next jump.

"But why? You must prefer Evra to me." Mr. Crepsley said from behind me.

"I don't really prefer one to the other." I said and then leapt to the next building. "But we said we were going to trust each other, remember?"

There was a pause, and I took that moment to catch my breath, even though I didn't really need to.

"I have greatly underestimated you, Lily." Mr. Crepsley said. "I feel honored to have you by my side."

I didn't really know what to say to that. "...So, what about Evra?"

"There is still hope." Crepsley said. "It is the twenty-third and we have until Christmas morning to save him." We walked to the edge of the building we had stopped on. We were switching hotels, moving across the rooftops, so that Murlough couldn't see us form the sewers.

"And if we should run into Murlough before we can save Evra..." Mr. Crepsley said. "I will trady _my_ life for his."

In that moment, I realized that I too had underestimated him.

"Very clever." Crepsley mumbled. "He can move down here freely without having to worry about sunlight."

We were in the sewers. Murlough's territory. It felt kind of like one of those videogames,

"Do not use a flashlight unless there is absolutely no light to see by." Mr. Crepsley warned as we navigated through the tunnels. "Otherwise, Murlough will see us coming."

So we set off, wandering aimlessly through the tunnels. The smell of the waste made it nearly unbearable, and impossible to catch any other scent. We wondered for hours on end. I could've sworn we were traveling in circles.

Mr. Crepsley stopped in front of me. At first I thought maybe he'd found something.

"We should return to the surface." He sighed. "Night is almost over."

"We can still look around some more." I insisted.

"No. It will do us no good to blindly wander through here. We need to go back. Form a plan."

I wanted to argue. I couldn't just leave, knowing that Evra was down here somewhere, but I knew that he was right. With one last look around, we headed back to the hotel.

When I got back I slammed my bag on the floor in frustration. "We've only got a day and a half left and we're just going in circles!" I seethed.

"Calm down." Mr. Crepsley sighed.

"Why am I so helpless?" I asked. The question wasn't really directed at anyone but myself. "Look at what's happened to all the friends I've ever had."

I slumped onto the bed kicking my bag over. Something rolled out under the bed. I reached under and grabbed Sam's pickled onions.

_Give me your strength Sam._ I thought as we sat in silence. Something was buzzing in the back of my brain. It sort of felt like someone was massaging my brain somehow, but mixed with a tingling like when your foot falls asleep. This wasn't something new. It started happening the night Sam died. I know that it's Sam in my head.

Suddenly I was reliving a memory. It was from earlier when I was talking to Murlough.

_"I like your little friend. Very tasty looking." The grate called. "Much tastier than other friend, Snake-boy, hmmm?"_

_I ran over and gripped the metal in my fingers. "Murlough!" I growled as I struggled with the grate, trying to rip it to shreds._

_"Heh heh heh!" He gurgled in a weird laugh. "Do you think she likes purple?"_

I sighed. "That doesn't help much, Sam." I mumbled under my breath.

"What?" Asked Crepsley. I turned to see his puzzled look.

"Uhh... nothing." I said, too tired really to explain, but I think he understood anyways.

Murlough's words echoed in my mind.

_"I like your little friend. Very tasty looking." The grate called. "Much tastier than other friend, Snake-boy, hmmm?"_

The buzzing returned. I can take a hint. So I ran the words through my mind a few times more.

"Something's fishy..." I said. Or maybe Sam said it. I feel like we both did though.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"He said something to me earlier in the sewer. It wasn't til now though, I realize that there was something fishy about what he said."

"What did he say to you?"

I turned aroung to face him. " 'I like your little friend. Very tasty looking. Much tastier than other friend... Snake-boy.' " I repeated the words to him.

We sat in silence again, thinking about these words. "I don't know, maybe I'm trying to look for clues that aren't there." I sighed. "Much tastier than other friend Snake..." Something clicked in my brain and suddenly I felt stupid with glee as a smile spread across my face.

"Snakes!" I said to Mr. Crepsley. "You said their blood was like poison to us right?"

I could tell the exact moment realization hit him. "I did, yes!"

"So would it be-"

"It is the same for vampaneze too!"

"He can't drink Evra's blood! That's why he didn't kill him!" I laughed jumping off the bed. "And he can't drink from either of us, he must be starving!"

"But how does this help us to get Evra back?" Crepsley asked.

Our excitement died again. But the buzzing was still there. Like a swarm of angry hornets.

_"I like your little friend. Very tasty looking." _

"I think I might have a plan..." I said.

_Thank you, Sam._

_A.N.: Yeah I know, I know. Short chapter. I should be able to do more writing now that school's out but, with the bullcrap summer online whatever, and work, plus getting my drivers license (3 years late) stuff just kinda gets a bit hectic. (On top of in-laws visiting... ugh.) So, sorry for the short and widespread chapters._


	14. Chapter 14 A Plan or Two

**I still do not own the Cirque du Freak.**

I called Dara as soon as it was early enough for her to be up.

"Hey, Dara." I said as soon as she answered. "Sorry about yesterday."

"It's okay." She said.

"Is it still okay for me to come over today?" I asked.

"Sure! Will your brother and dad be there too?"

"No. Evra... he's sick, and I think my dad caught whatever he has."

"Oh, that's too bad. But I'm glad you're coming!"

"Me too. I'll see you there." I replied.

"See ya." She said, and hung up.

Later that evening I walked around to the back of Dara's house and knocked on the door.

"Lily! Merry Chirstmas!" Dara's mother said when she opened the door, and immediatly grabbed me in a bear hug. "Though, why didn't you use the front door?"

"Uhh..." _Think quick!_ "I didn't want to get your carpets dirty. Me shoes are covered in mud from the slush."

"As if we should care about that!" Dara's mom said cheerfully as she dragged me inside.

"Dara, your little friend is here!" She called to the house.

_Little _friend? "My dad said I should bring this over." I said as I handed her a bottle of wine.

She handed it to her husband, who looked it over. "Well. We should have you over more often!"

"Dad!" Dara groaned as she came down the stairs. "We're going to have fun tonight!" She said to me.

"About that. I actually have to leave before evening." I said.

"What for?" Dara asked, sounding upset.

"We're leaving town tonight. To go see my mom." I said. I was only half lying.

"Th-thats great then!" Dara said enthusiastically, though Lily could tell she was upset by this news. "You'll get to be with your whole family."

"Everyone to the table!" Dara's mother called. "Dinner's ready."

"Ahh finally!" Dara's father said with a laugh.

All throughout dinner everyone was laughing and joking with each other. It kind of reminded me of my real family. But I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. I wanted to enjoy this evening.

"That food was fantastic!" I said after we had all finished eating. And it really was fantastic.

"You ate quite alot!" Dara commented.

"I just eat like a teenager!" I laughed. To my surprise, everyone actually laughed along with me. Well... they chuckled, but that was good enough for me.

"I say we open that wine now." Said Dara's father.

"I go get the bottle." Her mom replied.

"No, sit sit! I'll get it!" I said quickly. "You've been serving all night." I hurried into the kitchen to get the bottle.

In the dining room I heard Dara's mother whisper. "I think I'll trade Dara for Lily. She's much more useful to have around."

"That's it." Dara retorted. "No presents for you tomorrow."

I pulled the cork out with a loud _pop_! _Smells nice._ I thought as the scent drifted towards my face. I started pouring the wine into glasses.

"You okay in here?" Dara asked from behind me.

"Oh, yeah it's all good."

"Here." She handed me a box wrapped and tied with a ribbon.

"What's this?" I asked.

"It's a brand new porche." She laughed and headed back to the dining room. "What do you think it is?"

"Come on. My dad's dying for that wine."

I walked out with all four wine glasses in both hands, and handed one to each person.

"A toast," Announced Dara's father. "To us, and our new friend!"

It was alread dark out when I caught up with Mr. Crepsley.

"Did you have fun with your little friend?" He asked.

"Why is everyone referring to us as 'little'?" I sighed. "Is it a short thing?"

"Come. Let us resume our search for Evra."

Next thing I knew we were back in the tunnels of human waste. I thought it smelled bad before. I dashed ahead of Crepsley.

"Slow down! He will hear us if you keep this up." He called. "We must be more careful."

"To hell with that!" I growled. "This is our last chance to save Evra. I don't care how much noise we make!"

"You must calm down!" He replied. "I understand that you are-"

"You don't even care about Evra, do you!" I snarled. My flashlight slowly dimmed until the light went completely out. "Give me your flashlight." I reached out to grab it from him.

"Stop it! Behave yourself, Lily!"

"Give it to me then!" I said as I swatted it out of him hand.

The flashlight crashed to the floor with a loud crack, that left us in semi-darkness.

"You fool!" He shouted. "Now we have to go back up and find a replacement!"

"Go and get a new one then! I'm going on my own!" I yelled. "I'll save Evra on my own!"

"You cannot! Not by yourself!"

I ignored him and ran off calling our Evra's name.

"Stop! Murlough will hear you!"

"EVRAAAAAAAAAAA!" I yelled.

"Come back, Lily!" He continued to call after me.

I splashed loudly through the water and god knows what else. I kept running until I could no longer hear his voice.

"Evra!" I yelled again. Something hit me hard in the face and sent me flying.

"Who's there?" I cried. "Crepsley, is that you?"

"Sorry kid, but no." Came the dark voice I know only too well. "Don't you recognize my fangs?" He laughed.

"M-Murlough..." I stuttered and he blew the knock out gas into my face, causing everything to fade to black.

You know how you look foreward to Saturday mornings all week. Waking up at five in the morning from sunday to friday to go to school. Saturdays were the best to wake up on because you got to wake up feeling well rested. I woke up feeling like a Monday.

At first I thought I was blind, but as my eyes slowly adjusted, I realized that it was only really dark. And it _still_ smelled really bad! I could hear water dripping above my head. Odd. As everything finally came into focus, I could see that it was all upside-down. I tried to move my arms from my sides, but I found that I couldn't. I felt like a fly in a spiders web. Or more like a mummy. Yeah. Go with the mummy one.

"Finally awake, Lily Shan?" Murlough said startling me as he was suddenly in my line of vision.

"Y-yeah! Morning." I half squeaked.

"Say hello to Evra!" He said shoving something in my face. I looked at it... and screamed loudly. It was a skull covered in half rotted flesh. It smelled, if it was possible, worse than the sewer around us.

"You said you wouldn't kill him until Christmas!" I cried. "You promised! I thought a Vampaneze never lied!"

"L-Lily?" came a small voice to my right. I turned my head as far as I could and just barely made out a mess of green hair. "What are you doing here?"

"Evra!" I laughed. "I'm so gald you're alive!"

"You'll be hostages to lure Crepsley down here... and then I can finally _kill_ him!" Murlough giggled. "To early for relief though. Young Murlough is hungry and _**angry**_! Crepsley stole my Christmas feast from me, and eved tried to kill me! He must pay for his crimes."

"Why didn't you kill him earlier then? You didn't need me. You could have taken him out in the darkness!" I said glaring at him.

"It's a matter of odds, Lily Shan." He replied "He is a wily old vampire. I want 100% assured victory." He was playing with the skull he had shoved in my face before. "But perhaps you are right. I needn't have done this. Who cares about the ex-aggressions of a 'legendary' vampire? He wandered blindly into my territory and even got his little apprentice kidnapped! How foolish can you be?"

_Legendary? Cool!_

He walked over to me and grabbed my chin. "Now then. How does the firey young half-vampire's blood taste I wonder?"

"You can't drink from me! I'm a vampire and you're a vampaneze. Even you said so yourself."

"Good memory she has. Many times smarter than her master." He walked ofer to Evra and pulled a knife on him. "What about Snakey though?"

"Assuming you can drink snakes blood... Or maybe you've already tried?" I smirked.

"I did," He huffed. "Took little sip from him. Threw up for hours after!" He threw up his hands. "Damn you wretches! Instead of juicy fat man to feast on, I'll have to feed on rats! I kill Crepsley for this! I'll flay his skin from his bones!"

He appeared in my face a second later. "And when I'm done with him, it will be _your_ turn next!"

"Stop it Lily!" Evra yelled. "Don't get him any angrier than he already is."

"Dont worry." I said. "We'll get out of this. Mr. Crepsley will do something... Mr. Crepsley will..."

"Lily?" Evra asked. "What is it?"

"Hold on. I have to think something through."

"What is it!" Growled Murlough. "What were you going to say?"

I started giggling to myself. Murlough looked surprised at my response. I must have looked as crazy as he was. "Ha-ha! Of course! So _that's_ what it is! Though... I never considered that he might..."

"I haven't got all night Lily Shan!" Murlough roared as he pushed his blade to my throat. "So speak while you're able!"

"You are going to have to leave here... if you kill me. Won't you?" I said.

"Leave?" He scoffed. "What does your death have to do with this city?"

"Plenty!" I said with a smile. "I've finally figured it out! We've been used Evra... by Mr. Crepsley."

"Explain." Murlough growled, getting impatient.

"We were running around in your territory, shouting and waving flashlights. It _was_ foolish, you're right. Mr. Crepsley is smarter than that... I'm reminded of something he told me. The pact between vampires and vampaneze prevents them from interfering with one another."

"I'm well aware of the pact." Murlough didn't seem to get where I was going. "There are exceptions. In the case of murder, it is acceptable to do anything necessary to kill the murderer... isn't that right?"

"What's your point?" Murlough spat.

"Kill me, and Crepsley brings the generals to destroy you." I laughed slightly at this. "He _used_ me... h-he used _me_..." I looked at Evra. He looked hurt. "I'm a child, but I'm still a vampire. Of course he would do it. This is his city, and I'm just an assistant. Which would you chose?"

"No! That would only start a war!" Murlough cried.

"You still don't get it! If you kill me unprovoked, he can return the favor safely! This is all going according to his plan! He's not coming here to save me... he's probably sending signals to his vampire friends now."

"It is possible..." Murlough said. "Crepsley _would_..." He was starting to get angry again. "So I can't kill you! Big deal! Nothing's stopping me from killing _Snakey_!" He yelled as he jumped over to Evra and pulled out his knife.

"N-NO! Why would you do that!" I cried.

"Murlough's in a killing mood. Need something to carve."

"Then kill me! I'll swap places with Evra!"

"No good. You said so yourself, I can't kill you. But Snakey isn't deal."

"Leave Evra alone!" I cried. "Wait! I-I'll give you someone better!"

"Who could you possibly give me, Lily Shan?" He snarled. "Who?"

"Dara..." I said quietly.

"No!" Evra cried. :You can't! I won't let you!"

"I'll give you Dara."

_A.N.: Wow... what a snake in the grass Lily is huh? Anyways. So... yeah. Not much to say here. Having some confusing times right now. I am going through some really confusing times right now. Cut all relations with friends. Not really different from before though. That is the confusing part. But whatever. It is just weird how the chapters I am writing are kind of lining up with whatever is going on in my life. xP_


	15. Chapter 15 Merry Christmas

**I do not own Cirque du Freak**

"If you spare Evra's life... I'll give you... Dara." I said. "You want to feed before leaving, yes? That's why Dara is better than Evra. I can take you to her right away, and even get you in and out without being noticed. But only if we have a deal. And you have to leave us alone after this."

"You're clever all right." Murlough said with his crazy smile. "But I hope that I can take your word on this."

"How could I possible afford to play a trick on you in this situation?" I asked in disbelief. "You're in control. I just want to save Evra."

"Very well then. We have a deal" He said and licked his lips.

He turned me rightside up and cut me down, but he kept my arms tied to my side.

"Don't worry, Evra. I won't be gone long. Then we can go home to the Cirque." He wouldn't look at me.

"How can you do it? I'd rather die than trade Dara's life for mine." He said.

"It's the only way." I said, trying to make him understand.

"How can you do it?" He repeated. "How can you give her up like she was just some.."

"...Some human." I finished.

"Actually I was going to say, just some 'animal'." He scoffed.

"To a vampire it's the same thing..." He flinched at those words, but still wouldn't look at me.

"Time to go!" Murlough snarled. "Lead me a safe way to keep us from being spotted."

As we left I glanced over my shoulder to take a last look at Evra, but he still refused to acknowledge me. As we walked through the tunnels, I made sure Murlough marked every corner by leaving a scratch on the wall so I could find my way back later and free Evra.

When we reached the surface, it was still dark outside. I led him through the back alleys to Dara's house. He had to open the door for me, but I led him through the house to Dara's room. When he opened the door he inhaled deeply through his nose and smiled.

"Yes, _YES_! I can smell her blood..." He was salivating slightly. "You can too I bet."

He started pouring a white powder around her bed, like some ritual. "I do not like to feed this way, but I have no choice in the matter." He then tied me to the door handle of her closet.

"I want you to watch! Watch as I steal her soul and make it mine." He giggled. "If you don't watch, I go straight to the parents room and kill them too."

I glared at him and showed my teeth. "You're a monster."

"Heh heh! What a glare!" He laughed quietly. Then he turned to the bed and pulled out two knives. "Nothing soothes a hungry stomach like the rich salty scent... of blood!" He jumped to the bed and slammed both knives into the mattres.

"Wh-What is this!" He screeched and turned on me. In the bed where Dara should have been, was empty. There was a rag soaked with her blood to deceive him, and a few pillows to make it look like someone was sleeping in the bed.

"It's karma. Coming around for you, Murlough!" I said with a triumphant smile. He glared at me and started making his way toward me with his knives.

"The date has just changed." Came the all too familiar voice of Creplsey from begind me. "Merry Christmas, Murlough..." He said, smiling as he stepped out of the closet where he was hiding.

I've seen alot of action movies in my time. I used to watch them with my brother alot. We both loved the fighting, blood and gore, and mostly just watching stuff blow up. My favorite movie of all time was JAWS. I mean, that movie was ahead of its time. His favorite was Die Hard. I think he had a thing for Burce Willis. He looked up to him alot. Anyway, the reason I bring this up now is because everything I learned from all my action movies, were lies.

See, when Crepsley fought Murlough, there was no exchange of words, no build up to the fight, and no over exaggerated anything. In one moment they stood there looking at each other, and within the blink of an eye they charged at each other. In one swift movement, Crepsley sank his arm elbow deep into Murlough's stomach. There was no awesome fight scene that dragged on for ten minutes or. No Crepsley, beaten down at first only to make an unexpected comeback when all hope seemed lost. It was over just like that. I was kind of dissappointed, yet relieved.

Murlough fell face first onto the floor. At first I thought he was instantly dead, but he started moving. He lifted his head and started tocrawl toward me. I started to back away but being tied to the closet door, made it impossible to take more than a step and a half.

"Do not worry." Mr. Crepsley assured. "He can do no more harm."

Murlough crawled to my feet and said something. I could barely hear him. He motioned for me to come closer, and a glance at Crepsley told me I'd be safe. When I had lowered my head to his level he repeated what he'd said.

"Cluh-clever... girl. Hmm?" He smiled. I was sure it was genuine. Then his eyes started to droop and he rested his head on his arm. I knew he was dead, but I was still on edge, as if he would jump up any second.

"He is dead" Crepsley said confirming my thoughts. "Your plan worked."

My plan. To use a friend as bait. We had planned the whole night out. I had gone around the back of Dara's house to make sure Murlough didn't see me, and I put a sleeping potion in the wine. Dara and her parents wouldn't wake for a few more hours. Crepsley and I had a "fight" in the sewers and got seperated. I wanted to be caught. It was a sketchy plan. We were dealing with an insane vampanese, and there was no telling what could have gone wrong. He might not have made the deal, though that was unlikely. He might have just killed me on the spot instead of capturing me. And he might have killed Crepsley. Again, after what I just saw, I think that was unlikely.

It took a while to clean up all of Murlough's blood. After that I went to get Dara and put her back in her bed. When I came back to Dara's room, Mr. Crepsley was wrapping the body in a tarp so there wouldn't be a trail of blood.

"The plan worked brilliantly." He said.

"Thanks to Sam and you." I replied as I placed Dara in her bed.

"It was your plan though. I should be offering you thanks." He insisted.

"I'm the one who got us into this mess in the first place though." I reminded.

"Then I guess we are even." He hoisted the body over his shoulder. It was a sight to see. Like he was carrying a small elephant. Sometimes I forget about our vampire strength. "The vampaneze will hunt us to the ends of the earth if they find his body. So we will bury him in the sewers. I feel we will be safe."

Ahh, the sewers he loved so much." I smiled. But it quickly faded when I glanced at the tarp.

"When you are finished up here, come downstairs and we will go retrieve Evra." He said.

After Crepsley left I walked over to Dara's Christmas tree in her room. It was not decorated. We were supposed to do that together with Evra. I decorated it myself and left in next to her bed.

"Sorry I had to use you like that." I said to sleeping Dara. "But your boyfriend was in trouble. He's safe now."

The next day, we woke up late. Almost seven. The sun was starting to set. I packed my things, and went ahead and packed Crepsley's also. When Crepsley woke up we left to catch our train back to the Cirque. I took the seat next to Crepsley and Evra sat across from me.

Evra was mad at first when Crepsley and I showed up to free him. He wouldn't even look at me until we assured him that Dara was safe.

"I'm really sorry, Evra." I said for the millionth time when we were on the train. "I just couldn't tell you. Murlough would have never believed me. Your anger really helped sell it." Still no reply. "It wasn't right of me to put you through all that."

"You're darn right it wasn't!" He said, "I thought you were crazy offering her up like that!"

"But she's fine! She and her family are alive and now nobody else will have to die by the hands of Murlough." I insisted.

"...Yeah, I guess so." He sighed.

"So... am I forgiven?" I asked.

"Yeah. You are." He smiled.

"Good." I smiled. "Oh and I almost forgot!" I reached into my bag and grabbed his present. "Glad I got to give this to you. Merry Christmas." I handed him the wrapped box.

"What is it?" He asked excitedly.

"Well I could tell you, but wouldn't you rather open it and find out yourself?" I asked.

There was a pause before he tore into it, sending wrapping paper flying everywhere. "Is this..." He paused. "I have no idea what this is." He admitted.

I laughed. "It's a CD player. It playes music. And this..." I reached into the box and pulled out the Cd player revealing the CD underneath it. "Is that band you saw on T.V. I thought you'd like to have them with you when you don't have a T.V."

"This... is AWESOME!" He gave me a hug. "Thanks!"

"E-Evra! Air!" I gasped.

"Oh you're fine." He sighed letting go of me.

"Yeah I know." I smiled.

"But, I didn;t get you anything." He said,

"You're safe and that's good enough for me." I said. "Really."

"Oh and I got something for you too." I said turnign to Mr. Crepsley. He didn't move. He was staring out the window. "Uh... Crepsley? Helloooo?" I waved my hand infront of his face.

"What?" He asked and blinked back to reality.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"I am on a train." He said raising an eyebrow.

"Never mind. I got you something." I said, handing him a box and trying to keep my face straight. He seemed to see through my mask and paused before he took the box and opened it.

He pulled out the sunglasses and looked at the skeptically before putting them on.

Evra and I started laughing. I mean, he wore them well. Looked fine in them. But the look on his face was too funny.

"Hilarious, Lily!" Evra laughed.

"...Ridiculous..." Mr. Crepsley sighed.

I reached into my bag and my hand hit something. Confused I pulled it out. It was the present from Dara.

"Whatcha got there?" Evra asked. I looked up to see Crepsely and Evra both waiting to see what I had.

"Present from Dara. Forgot I had it." I said.

Both were quiet for a moment. "Well... open it already!" Evra said.

I opened the box. Inside were two rings. "Oooh! Somebody getting married?" Evra laughed.

"Apparently, you and I." I replied sarcastically.

"Huh?" He stopped laughing. I handed him one of the rings. Engraved inside the band was "_Evra Crepsley_".

The other said "_Lily Crepsley_".

"But that's not my name." Evra said, reading it.

"What does it say?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

I pulled a note out of the bottom of the box. "To Evra and Lily Crepsley. Merry Christmas."

Mr. Crepsley and Evra raised their eyebrows at me.

"I _may_ have told her that Evra and I... that we're brother and sister... and that our last name was Crepsely." I smiled sheepishly.

To my surprise, Mr. Crepsley started laughing. "You and Evra?" He gasped.

"Well she bought it." I said.

"Obviously." Evra said lifting his ring.

"Look at the bright side: If we ever forget our names... well, _first_ names." I smiled. "Oh well. If you don't want it, give it back." I held out my hand.

"No!" Evra said without a pause and pulled his arm out of my reach.

I smirked and he glared.

"Evra Von Crepsley... has a nice sound." I teased. "You going to adopt him?" I asked Crepsley.

"Heavens no!" He cried. "One of you is already bad enough." He snorted.

My smile faded. But then Crepsley started smiling, and I realized he was joking.

"Hmm..." Evra said, looking between us. "Lily Crepsley..."

"Baby brother!" I teased.

"I'm older than you are." He reminded.

"Oh, right."

_A.N.: Haha, Lily made a mistake. Oh well. Not much to say about my life... I am getting my liscence soon (about 2 years later than everyone I know.) But I don't know about a car._


	16. Chapter 16 To Vampire Mountain

**I still do not own Cirque du Freak.**

_It's been nearly six years since we left Mr. Crepsely's home town and returned to the Crique du Freak. By now I'm physically about nineteen even though I should be about twenty-five. Six peaceful years of traveling with my close friends whom I now considered family. Peaceful. Except when I slept._

_See, for the first five years after returning to the Cirque, I thought everything was fine. When I think back on the events following my joining the Cirque, it didn't bother me anymore that I had lost Sam, or nearly lost Evra. _

_But in the past year, I had started having nightmares about the Wolf-Man and Murlough. Something had triggered in my mind. I found myself distancing myself from everyone and anyone I had been close to. I didn't want them worrying about me like I knew they would._

_Evra had once asked me what was wrong. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. I knew he didn't believe me, but to my relief he didn't press the matter any further. Nobody else in the cirque asked me about anything. Except for the few people who had joined since I'd been here. But they only asked me about my scars. I could tell they wanted to know. I'd catch them staring, but they seemed to think it rude to ask. I really didn't care anymore. I though the Wolf-Man's claw marks made for an interesting story. Though I did leave some details out._

_On a lighter note, today's show was a great success. I was thinking that tomorrow I might try that trick I've been practicing with Madame Octa._

_Crepsley has still been "training" me, but I think it's more of a "beat the crap out of Lily" thing. I have to admit, I have gotten alot stronger, and my reflexes have improved as well, but if I wan't to be anywhere near as good as Crepsley, I have a long way to go._

I finished my first entry in my new/old journal. I had originally bought it to keep as a dream journal, but I had never made an entry until now. For the past year it had just sat in my bag, still in its plastic wrap. Today I decided it was lost past time to make an entry, so I sat down and wrote about whatever I thought of.

I glanced into the mirror in the tent I was sharing with Evra. I still had dark circles under my eyes from the lack of sleep. I didn't dare try and catch a nap. The chance of another nightmare wasn't worth taking. Instead I smeared some consealer under my eyes. It seemed to do the trick. I looked more normal now.

"Lily." Came a voice from behind me, nearly scaring me. I turned as Mr. Cepsley walked into the tent.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Pack your bags. We leave for Vampire Mountain tomorrow." He said and turned around to leave.

"What?" I asked. "Vampire Mountain?"

"We will present you to the Vampire Generals. The council only meets once every twelve years." He explained. "I have informed Mr. Tall of the plan. Please be ready at dusk."

By the next morning I still hadn't slept much. I almost felt like I had when I was refusing to drink blood, minus the blinding headaches. I was feeding the Little People.

"How is it, Lefty? Taste good?" I laughed. Lefty had always stood out from the others because of his limp. He also helped to bury Sam.

"These guys will eat anything." Evra sat from behind me. "I doubt they even have taste buds."

I glanced up at Evra. In the past six years he'd grown alot taller than me. By now he was more of a snake _man_ than a snake boy. Evra was growing up faster than I could. Now that he was a man, I was still stuck in the body of a teenager. I'd known this would happen eventually, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad about it.

Later that evening when we were back in our tent, I told him the news.

"You're leaving for _Vampire Mountain_ tonight? No let me retry that. You're leaving for Vampire Mountain _tonight_?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, appearantly I have to be presented in front of the Vampire Council." I sighed. "It's really out of the blue. But knowing Crepsley, I'm not really surprised that he waited until the last second to tell me." I said with a laugh.

"From what I've heard, the journey is no joke." Evra warned. :Maybe I should go with you!" He exclaimed. "It will be like the time we left for Chriatmas six years ago."

The memory hit me like a bolt of lightning. "Evra... you almost died then. Please, just stay here."

"You don't have to be so cold." He sighed.

"Speaking of cold, done snakes hate the cold?" I asked.

"Well, I suppose that's true. I'd probably fall asleep and hibernate until the spring!" He laughed. "Hey, at least let me help you pack." He pleaded.

An hour later we were still packing. "You're really going to need this rope!" Evra said as he threw it at me. I made a move to catch it, but I missed and it hit me right in my face.

"But vampires are great climbers." I protested as I threw it back.

"I know but you don't really want to be hanging off the side of a mountain with only your fingertips for support do you?"

"Why, of course he does!" Cried a voice from behind us. We both froze immediately. We knew that voice. "Everyone knows that vampires thrive on danger!" He continued.

We turned and just as we had expected, there was Mr. Tiny, with his evil smile and heart shaped watch.

"Off to Vampire Mountain are we? You should bring some matches. The nights are awfully cold." He said.

"Thanks for the advice." I said. I would definantly not be bringing matches now.

"One last thing. Tell Larten that I want a word with him before you leave." He said.

"I think we're in a hurry-" I started.

"Just tell him I want a word. He'll make time for _me_. Even the dead make time for Mr. Tiny!" He smiled and turned to leave. "Farewell!" He called as he exited.

Later I was walking with Mr. Crepsley to Mr. Tall's caravan, where we could already hear Mr. Tiny inside.

"I tell you, you should have seen that earthquake!" He said excitedly. "Oh, the delightful screams! More relaxing that a lullaby."

"Here I am." Mr. Crepsley announced as we walked in.

"Ah, Larten! Prompt as ever." Tiny smiled. "Have a seat."

"No, Desmond. " Crepsley sighed. "Thank you, but I will stand."

I had to hold back a smile. I mean, honestly, if Mr. Tiny told someone to take a breath and they didn't I'd still find it amusing.

"I hear you're taking off for Vampire Mountain." Tiny said.

"We leave tonight." Crepsley replied.

"This is the first council you've been to in about fifty years isn't it?" Mr. Tiny smiled.

"You are well informed." Mr. Crepsley replied.

_Fifty?_

"Dangerous for a young thing like Shan, wouldn't you say?" Mr. Tiny smirked.

"Lily can look after herself." Mr. Crepsley replied. He sounded bored, and seemed to be favoring as little a response as possible.

"I'm sure she can, but it's unusual for one so young to make the journey, isn't it?" Tiny smirked.

"Yes..."

Tiny snapped his fingers. "That's why I'm sending these two along as guards!" Tiny announced as two of the Little People walked in. I recognized one as Lefty. "My Little People should come in quite handy,"

"Guards?" Crepsley scoffed. "They would get in the way. I do not want them."

"This is not an _offer_." Mr. Tiny said. "They're going. End of story. All you have to do is not "lose" them along the way."

"And when we get there? You expect me to take them inside the mountain? The princes will not stand for it."

"Don't forget by whose hands the Hall of Princes was built." Tiny warned.

For a while they just stood there glaring at each other. I shifted nervously.

Finally Crepsley sighed and nodded.

"I knew you'd see it my way!" Mr. Tiny exclaimed. "Now, Shan. You've grown alot. On the inside I mean."

I didn't reply.

"Your battles with the Wolf-Man and Murlough have toughened you."

I froze. "H-how do you know... about Murlough?" I asked.

"I know _everything_!" Tiny said with a smile. "You've come a long way, but there's a long way yet to go." He walked over and placed his hands on my shoulders. The room suddenly felt really tense. "You must be strond, Lily, strong! Never admit defeat... even when it seems inevitable. That's all I have to say."

Tiny got up and made his way to the door. "Time's ticking! We've all got places to be and deadlines to meet. I'll be on my way. We'll meet again, I'm sure." And he was out the door.

Without moving my head or body I looked over and Mr. Crepsley. "I suddenly don't want to go. Is that normal?"

He didn't reply but he had a grim expression on his face.

A while later we were outside dressed in these weird red clothes.

"Do we really have to travel dressed like this? And _barefoot_?" I sighed, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. This trip is not just a journey. It is a trial meant to seperate the strong from the weak."

"Can't I just accept defeat already?" I asked, half joking. He glared at me but then rolled his eyes.

"Where is Madame Octa?" He asked.

"She's coming too?"

"Of course." He said. "There is someone on Vampire Mountain I wish to show her to."

"All right, then." I said and took off to grab Octa. When I got back, Evra and a few others were there to see us off.

"Take care." Evra said giving me a hug. "We're all wishing you luck."

"Thanks. I'll need it from what I hear." I laughed.

"Ready?" Crepsley asked.

I sighed taking one last look at everone and the cirque. "Yeah... ready."

I figured we were traveling north because the more gournd we covered the colder it got. I lost track of the time a long time ago. I can't remember if we'd been traveling for weeks or months. The land all around us is cold and dry. We keep moving. Sleep, wake, walk. We can't be late to the council, but we can't flit either. There are so many rules and customs to follow. Only those who rise to the challange truly know what it means to live. At least that's what Mr. Crepsley said. There's a human term for that. I believe it's called... an adrenaline junkie.

The Little People follow, silently. I'm really surprised at how easily they keep up. I on the other hand, am wearing my stamina out. If I don't adapt I won't make it.

"Are you managing, Lily?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Yes." I lied. Though I sounded stronger that I felt, I could see that he could read me like a book.

"I will slow the pace a tad... do not fall behind."

"I know." I sighed, relieved. Though after a few minutes I couldn't tell any difference from before. I realized I had zoned out, counting my breaths. When I looked up, Crepsley was farther ahead than before. I picked up my pace to catch up.

Suddenly the ground beneath me cracked. I jumped back realizing that the edge I was walking on was about to give way, only to have the ground there break away also. I reached out and grabbed part of the wall with the tips of my fingers on one hand. I glanced at Mr. Crepsley as my fingers slipped and for a moment I hung suspended in the air. I closed my eyes tight waiting for the intense fatal jolt when I hit the ground far far below. I heard Crepsley call my name, and then my hand caught on something and I stopped falling.

I looked up to see that in fact, something had actually caught my hand.

"Well, well!" Teased an all too familiar voice. "Look who it is. Lily Shan!"

"Gavner!" I smiled.

You have to love how he always pops out of nowhere! :)


	17. Chapter 17 The Wolves

Still do not own Cirque du Freak

Appearantly Gavner followed Mr. Crepsley's aura. With Gavner in tow we moved further into snowdrifts and blizzards.

"Hang in there!" Gavner incouraged. He was having to yell over the wind. "The way station is straight ahead!"

"Way station?" I asked.

"A place to stop and rest!" Crepsley explained. "There will be coffins and bottles of blood for us there."

That got me moving faster, though I couldn't even see it for another few minutes. Then the entrance to a cave came into view and we walked toward it.

"There it is!" Gavner called.

As we neared the entrance, Crepsley and Gavner both stopped suddenly.

"Gavner..." Crepsley said.

"Yes." He replied. It was like he was confirming something.

"Stay close behind me, Lily." Mr. Crepsley warned.

"Uh...kay. Why?" I asked. He didn't answer but we started walking in. Slowly as though they thought someone was hiding in there.

After we had gone in about ten feet I realized what they were getting worked up over. There was blood all over the walls and there were broken coffins and crates thrown everywhere too.

"Blood. I couldn't even smell it." I realized.

"It is a few days old." Mr. Crepsley said, inspecting the walls. He reached out and touched the wall, then licked the blood of his finger.

"Vampire blood." He said.

"Might be the work of a wild animal. " Gavner said. "Then again it could also be a vampire hunter."

"That seems unlikely, but possible." Crepsley sighed. "It would be unwise to spend any time here."

They started walking back out. I glanced up at the bloody walls, and turned to catch up with them.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

After what seemed like hours of more walking, (though it was probably more like minutes) we came upon a slab of rock that was laying over a sort of hole in the fround.

"The light will return soon." Mr. Crepskey said as he inspected the area. "We shall camp here."

"I'll circle back to that stream and fill the canteens." I said as I dropped my bag in the snow.

"By yourself?" Gavner asked. "What if that hunter or animal catches scent of you?"

"Are you saying I stink?" I joked.

"Maybe I should go with you..." He trailed off like he was thinking outloud, and then realized it so went back to thinking in his head. I've known alot of grown-ups that did that.

"Lily is not a child. She will be fine." Crepsley sighed.

I grinned. "B-R-B!"

"...What?" Both men gave me a confused look.

I chewed my bottom lip and squinted my eyed. "I'll be right back." I said and took of running back to the stream, though before I was out of earshot I heard Gavner.

"Kids these days, huh?"

I plunged the canteens into the water, only to jerk back. "Cold!" Isaid through clenched teeth.

I was halfway through the second canteen when I heard something on the other side of the stream. I looked up to see a full grown grey wolf, staring right at me.

At first I froze. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know anything about wolves, except that vampires couldn't drink from them. The memories of the Wolf-Man came back to me. I froze then too.

_NO!_

Slowly I took the canteen out of the water and placed it next to the others. The wolf pricked it's ears up. I started to stand up, and I had barely gained a foot of altitude when the wolf jumped the _entire_ stream and landed on top of me. I didn't realize how high or even how far they could jump.

I yelped when it landed on me and covered my face with my arms, waiting for it to start ripping me to peices. But it never happened. Instead I felt something warm and wet on my arms. I peeked between my hands to see that the wolf was licking me.

Confused, I lowered my arms and the wolf jumped off me and started wagging its tail.

"Umm... hi?" I said. It barked twice in reply and I couldn't help laughing.

It turned its head and howled. Soon, tthree more wolves and a pup appeared on the other side of the river where the first had come from. Two were females and one was a cub.

"I see you have met some of our cousins, Lily." My. Crepsley said while he was petting the first wolf. I had named him Streak.

"Cousins?" I asked.

"Legends claim that our species came from the same root." He explained.

"The legends say Mr. Tiny was messing with a wolf and in doing so, made the first vampire." Gavner said. "So wolves and vampires are kindred spirits, you see!"

"He is a fine specimen!" Crepsley said, still looking at Streak. "A born leader."

"See that streak of black on his belly? I've decided to call him Streak." I pointed. "And the pup I call Rudi. Like Rudolph, because of his red nose."

"You named them?" Crepsley asked. He sighed, sounding annoyed. "They are wolves, not dogs."

"Aw, don't be a buzzkill!" I laughed.

"Let her give them names if she wants." Gavner agreed. "It can't do any harm."

"I suppose not." Mr. Crepsley agreed.

That night was one of the best nights of sleep I had had in a really long time. It was so warm with the wolves curled up next to me. Rudi always tried to sleep inside my sleepingbag with me, but anytime Streak caught him he would reprimand him. I figured maybe it was because doing so would be "not wolf". I could understand. Like Mr. Crepsley had said, they were not dogs.

Hunting with them was an expierence I'll never forget aas long as I live. I learned a lot from the wolves by watching them and asking Mr. Crepsley questions. The pack almost moves as one unit when hunting. Their incredible senses inable them to do things humans could only dream of. We easily caught animals like, foxes and deer. There was nothing like sharing a kill with everyone.

I didn't even have a nightmare whenever the wolves were nearby.

"Vampires, half-vampires, wolves and Little People." Gavner laughed. "What a parade we make. Did you see any more of them, Lily?"

"More?"

"Wolves come whenever there's a council. It's as if there's a wolf council at the same time." He said.

"So they're going to the same destination." I smiled.

One day we came across a forest of thorns blocking the trail. I thought maybe we were going to have to go around. To my surprise (and I was surprised) both men began undressing.

"Question-" I started.

"Our clothes would protect us a little, but we'd come out the otherside in rags." Gavner said before I could finish the question. "Best to keep them intact."

"I'm just going to go change... into some shorts... behind that tree." I said. "Waaaaay over there."

"Make it fast." Crepsley sighed. Suddenly he coughed. "Gavner... what are _those_?"

I turned to see him standing in some of the weirdest shorts I'd ever seen. "Elephants?" I asked.

"They were a present." He said, shifting he eyes. "From a beautiful woman. She just had bad taste in underwear."

"...hmm... Know what else she had bad taste in?" I laughed.

"What's that?"

"Boyfriends." I said laughing. To everyone's suprise, Mr. Crepsley was laughing with me.

After a while he clamed down. "Tickle your funny bone did I? I'm going to go change." I said and took off to the tree I had pointed to earlier.

I looked through the bag til I found the shorts Evra had packed for me. "Evra, you're a lifesaver." I breathed as I started to change.

I thought I was cold before. I didn't realize how much colder I could be when one was only wearing shorts and a tank top.

"Nice scars." Gavner commented when I returned. I glanced at my arm when the Wolf-Man had scratched me all those years ago.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Crepsley motion Gavner not to say anything else.

"Yeah. Wolf-Man." I said. "Got loose a while back and I got in the way."

Mr. Crepsley rubbed a really awful smelling lotion on my skin. He said it would seal my pores, making my skin harder to cut.

We started through the thorns, and barely twenty feet into it I was already scratched up and getting cut every other step I took. I didn't see the wolves anywhere, but I figured they were finding their own way.

Ahead of me, Gavner and Crepsley froze. When I caught up with them I realized why they stopped. The air was thick with the smell.

"Vampaneze?" I asked, thinking back to the night when we had killed Murlough.

"Vampaneze blood." Gavner said pointing.

When we finally got out of the thorns, I found that Gavner had been right about the clothes. My shorts were much shorter now, and both my shorts and shirt were now covered in splotches of sticky blood. I didn't bother changing out of them, I just put my other clothes back on over them. There was another way station where we stayed. This one seemed clear of any enemies. Mr. Crepsley and Gavner were still going on about the vampaneze blood.

"What business does a vampaneze have being so close to Vampire Mountain?" Gavner exclaimed.

"It may have something to do with the vampire blood." Crepsley said.

"But a vampaneze on the trail to Vampire Mountain? It's unheard of!" Gavner retorted.

This was one of those times where I thought it would be best if I just stayed quietly in the background.

"Whatever the reason, we must scout the area." Mr. Crepsley said.

"Agreed." Gavner huffed.

Crepsley turned to me. "Gavner and I will conduct a search. You stay with the others in the way station."

Streak jumped up and started following Crepsley and Gavner. "Will you come along? You're keen senses will come in handy." Crepsley said.

We stayed at the way station for a few days while the vampire scouted looking for any traces of vampaneze. I actually started to get lonely with only the other wolves and the Little People. I spent most of the hours playing with Rudi in the cave, or in the forest nearby.

Rudi tried climbing a few trees but most of the branches were too high for him. Finally he found a tree with low enough branches that he could climb, and he did just that. When he was about twice as high as I was tall he turned and looked at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You stuck?"

He started whimpering.

"Come on!" I laughed. "You're not that high up." He ignore me and kept whimpering. Then he started growling and bared his fangs. I stepped closer. "Do you want help?"

He yapped, and whimpered again. He sounded really afraid.

"Okay, Rudi, I'm coming up-"

I shup up immediately when I heard a loud roar. It was louder than any I'd ever heard, even the Wolf-Man. Turning, I saw a huge black bear stumble over the hill behind me where we had just come. It was standing on it's hind legs, but lurched foreward, landing heavily in the snow when it saw me. It's muzzle was flecked with pink foam, and it bared it's great yellow teeth at me.

It let out another roar, and charged head first toward me.

_A.N.: HOL-E SH**! BIG BEAR! Just kidding. Okay so yeah. Lily makes some new friends, her nightmares start to ease off and then this load of BS is thrown at her._


	18. Chapter 18 Name Not Lefty

I do not own Cirque Du Freak

I would have died instantly had Rudi not taken the chance to jump from his branch onto the bear, momentarily blinding it. The bear roared and swiped at the cub, who ducked and bit one of its ears. The bear shook its head until Rudi could no longer hand on, and resumed its attack on me.

But the time Rudi had bought me allowed me to make my way up the tree Rudi had been in. I was nowhere near as low as Rudi had been. The bear glared at me and I did the only logical thing I could think of.

"CREPSLEY!" I yelled. My voice echoed around the trees.

The bear turned to Rudi, who was making his way up another tree. The bear wasn't far behind, and as soon as Rudi slipped, it would be the end of him.

I couldn't let that happen. So I rolled my sleeves back so I could use my claws better, and jumped out of the tree. Well... it was more like _fell_ out of the tree. I was aiming for the bear's back, but instead I landed on its shoulders. I clawed at its face and eyes, and in return it swiped at me with its own.

I jumped down into the snow and rolled away. When I looked up at the bear, it turned around and roared at me. That's when the she-wolves appeared and started attacking the bear's ankles. I figured they'd heard Rudi's yapping. I grabbed a stick and started jabbing at its eyes and it continued swinging its massive paws at me. I hit its left ear, and it must have hurt a lot, because it completely ignored everyone else and hurled itself at me.

I ducked out of the way, missing its jaws, but one of its huge hindlegs caught the side of my head and knocked me off my feet. I started crawling backwards as it came at me again. I backed myself right into something. I turned to see a tree at my back. When I looked back at the bear, it was right in front of me standing on its hind legs. It had me right where it wanted me. It started to fall foreward to crush me...

When the Little People barreled into it, knocking it sideways. I sighed with relief as I used the tree to stand up again.

Everytime the bear thought it had me, someone came to my rescue. I wondered how much longer this streak of luck would hold. The bear roared at the Little People this time, and charged at them. The one we called Lefty limped out of the way, but the other stayed put. I watched amazed as it raised its short stubby arms against the bear. The bear came crashing down and flattened him.

There was a sickening crunch, and when the bear got up, the Little Person was in pieces. The bear lifted its giant head to the sky and bellowed triumphantly. It turned to me and leered hungrily. I tried to run, but was still dazed from the blow to the head.

Lefty jumped in front of the bear, grabbed it by the ears and headbutted it. It was the coolest thing I had seen since I frist saw the Cirque Du Freak. The bear blinked dumbly, and Lefty headbutted it again. He was leaning back for a third blow when the bear knocked him aside.

By now I had made it over to Lefty's friend. The bear turned back to me and started charging again. I looked for a weapon, anything I could use to fight it. I looked down at the bones of the Little Person that were sticking out. It was better than nothing. I grabbed one of the bones that had snapped to a point at the end and tried pulling it out. I had to pull with all my might before it finally popped out.

Just as I turned around and jammed the bone out in front of me, the bear rammed into me. Rammed into the bone. It stabbed deep into the neck. The bear stopped and I fell just in front of it. Its eyes bulged and it fell forward onto my lower half, trapping me.

I tried to get up but I couldn't lift the bear. So instead I flopped back and rested on my back trying to catch my breath. One of the wolves came over to me and licked my face. I scratched behind her ears and started to cry.

I glanced over at Lefty. His hood had fallen back and I could see his face. It was grey and he had huge green eyes and a mask covering the lower half of his face. "Are you okay, Lefty?" I asked. He nodded. Thanks for coming to me rescue. I would be dead if you hadn't stepped in."

He pulled the mask on his fase down, exposing a wide mouth of sharp teeth. He licked his lips and flexed them a few times. He then did something truly shocking.

"Name... not Lefty." He said. I felt my jaw drop slightly. "Name... Harkat. Harkat Mulds."

I fainted.

"Lily! Lily!" Someone was shaking me furiously. "Please be alive!"

My eyes shot open to see Crepsley and Gavner standing above me. I could move my legs now.

"Oh good, you moved the bear." I said and stood up. My legs were wobbly, like when you run in P.E. and then try to walk straight.

Crepsley sighed with relief as he helped me up. "For a moment, I thought I was going to have to find a new assistant."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." I joked.

Streak barreled into me knocking me back down and covering my face with his drool.

"I'm alive, Streak! You can let me up!" I laughed.

"What in blazes happened here?" Gavner asked looking at the dead bear.

"It came out of nowhere and attacked me." I said. I explained what had happened, but when I got to the part where the Little People came in I remembered something really important.

"...and then the Little Pe- Lefty!" I shouted.

"He is right here." Mr. Crepsely poined to Lefty.

"No! He spoke! Actual words!" I cried.

"Really? What'd he say?" Gavner asked.

"He told me his name is Harkat Mulds." I said.

"Is that true little guy?" Gavner asked Harkat, smiling.

"Yes. Name...Harkat." Harkat told him. Gavner's smile faded.

"H-he talked!" Ganver said pointing to the Little Person. Crepsely shook his head, amazed.

"We will have to discuss this later." Crepsley said. He walked over to the bear and tasted some of the bears blood. He spat it out immediately.

"As I suspected. The bear was insane, though not with rabies." He said.

"What then?" I asked.

"It had consumed the blood of a vampaneze." He said. "We need to search the area for a body."

We started my following the bear's tracks and the wolves followed the scent. It led up exactly where we needed to go. We found a half buried body covered in bloody snow.

"So the bear dug up the body and ate it." Ganver said.

"Think it was the same one from the thorns?" I asked.

"Could be." Gavner said.

"But someone had to bury this one." Crepsely said. "There could be many more on the other trails."

We got back to the way station where we had left out things. I sat at the entrance and talked with Harkat some more, though I had to be patient with him because he couldn't talk as fast as I could, and he had to keep breathing through his mask. Their robes were for show but the masks were necissary to breathe. The air was toxic to them.

He explained that each of the Little People had made a deal with Mr. Tiny, and each deal had been different. They wouldn't have to serve Tiny forever. Eventually they would be freed, to live on as a Little Person, to be reborn into another body, or to die.

"What kind of deal did you strike with him." I asked.

"Don't know. Can't... remember." He replied.

There were a lot of things he didn't remember. Who he was when he was alive, where he lived or had been, even how long he'd been dead was a mystery. He couldn't even tell us if he'd been a man or a woman. But he told us that refering to him as "he" was okay. We stayed up late into the day asking him all kinds of questions.

"In all the hundreds of years that we have known them, no Little Person has ever spoken, even when dying or in great pain. Why have _you_ broken the long silence?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

Harkat hesitated. "I have a... message," He said after a while. "Mr. Tiny... gave me it... to give to... Vampire Princes. So I'd... have had to speak... soon anyways."

"What kind of message?" Gavner asked.

"It is for... Princes." Harkat said. "I do not... think I should... tell you."

"We won't tell anyone you said anything to us." I promised.

Harkat nodded and took a deep breath through his mask. "Mr. Tiny told... me to tell the... Princes, that the... night of the... Vampaneze Lord... is at hand. That is... all."

"The night of the Vampaneze Lord is at hand." I repeated. "What does that mean?" I asked.

"i don't know... what it means." Harkat said. "I'm just... the messenger."

"I turned to ask Crepsely and Gavner if they knew what he was talking about, but stopped when I saw the look on their faces. They looked even paler than before (if that was even possible!) and they were even trembling with fear.

"Crepsely?" I asked. He didn't move. Neither of them did. They were both staring intently at the Little Person. "Uhh... Mr. Crepsley? I take it you know what the message means."

At the time I had no idea of the true terror those words should have inspired within me.

A week later, we arrived at Vampire Mountain. It wasn't the highest mountain in the reigon, but it was steep and rocky. It would be impossible to climb.

"So where... where do we go." I asked.

"There." Gavner said pointing to the mountain.

"I don't see any other vampires." I said, raising an eyebrow.

Mr. Crepsley started laughing. He whispered something to Gavner and he started laughing too.

"Hahaha! I don't get it!" I said pretending to laugh.

"How long do you think we would escape detection if we all lived on the mountain?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Then... _inside_ the mountain?" I asked.

"Of course!" Ganver smiled. "The mountain is full of caves and chambers. Everything a vampire could wish for is stored within. Coffins, vats of blood, food and wine."

"So how do we get in?' I asked turning back to the mountain.

"Watch and see, little one." Crepsely said.

I turned around and glared. "Is... is that a _short_ joke?"

"Wh- No!" He said suddenly. But then rolled his eyes when I started laughing.

We walked around the base of the mountain. Both vampires were excited as ever, though only Gavner let it show. I had to be careful when catching Crepsley in the act of excitement.

We reached a stream about twenty feet wide. The water was moving really fast. I wondered if we would cross it, but we only followed it upstream. A lone wolf appeared in the distance and howled. Streak and the other wolves came to a stop. Streak pricked his ears up, listened, and then howled back. His tail was wagging like crazy. He looked at me and barked.

"He is saying good-bye." Crepsley said. I already figured that.

I scratched him behind the ears, the way he liked it. "Nice knowing you." I patted Rudi too. "Maybe I see you around." I whispered to the pup.

"We'll see them again." Gavner promised. "We can check in on them when we leave."

"Yeah." I sighed. "I don't really care." I lied. "Just a pack of mutts. I don't care."

"Of course you don't" Gavner smiled.

"Come," Crepsely said placing a hand on my shoulder. "You know, wolves never forget a face. The cub will remember you even when it is old."

I smiled at this. He started walking and Gavner, Harkat and I fell into step behind him.

_A.N.: And soooooo another friend disappears out of Lily's life. Maybe. Tell me what you think. I feed off your reviews! Not really but they are nice._


	19. Chapter 19 Seba, Spiders and Sleep

I still do not own Cirque du Freak.

oOo is my new transition because the hyphens were not working and I went this whole time not knowing because I do not read my own work xP

oOo

(and it is pretty)

We finally crossed the stream above the opening where it bled out of the mountain in a gushing roar. It was deafening so we had to move quickly, though not too quickly. At one point I almost slipped and fell, but I caught myself. _Not this time!_ I smiled to myself as I regained my footing.

We reached the mouth of a tunnel a while later. We were not very far up the mountain, but upon looking down, I observed a **very** steep drop. I hadn't looked down until this point so the sight scared me a little.

Mr. Crepsley entered first and I followed close behind. It was dark inside the tunnel at first, but the further we went the lighter it got.

"Where is the light coming from?" I asked, looking around for a source. The glow seemed to be coming from the rocks themselves.

"Luminous lichen." Crepsely replied.

I laughed at this and when Crepsely raised his eyebrows at me I said: "It's like a tongue twister... kinda."

"It's a form of fungus that gives off light." Gavner explained. "It grows in certain caves and on the floors of some oceans."

"Been swimming lately?" I laughed. "Does it grow all over the mountain?"

"Noy everywhere. Torches are used where it doesn't grow."

Ahead of us, Crepsely stopped and cursed.

"What's up, Mr. Grumpy-pants?" I asked with a smirk.

"Cave-in." He sighed, and my smile faded. "There is no way through."

"We'll just have to back-track and find another way." Gavner said, as he headed back the way we came.

"We had better hurry." Crepsely said. "Dawn is fast approaching."

Once back outside, we moved as fast as the treacherous footing would allow, and made it to another opening. The sun was already starting to rise when we finally made it inside. This tunnel was not nearly as big as the first and the two full vampires had to slouch to keep from hitting their heads on the ceiling.

There wasn't much lichen growing here but just enough so that we could see. Any human would be blind though.

After a while of walking, the tunnel started going down. I didn't want to ask anymore questions so I kept my mouth shut. After a while of this it started going back up, getting steeper as it went. At one point we were going almost vertical and had to climb. As we climbed, the tunnel became more and more narrow until I could only use my elbows to move up.

After a while of this the tunnel finally leveled out and then a little ways after, opened into a small cave where we rested.

I glanced opposite of the tunnel we had come and was surprised to see four exits. I nudged Gavner and pointed. "Which way is the right way?" I asked.

"The one that's marked." He said, and pointed to a tunnel with an arrow scratched on it.

"Where do the others lead?" I asked.

"Dead ends, other tunnels, some go up to the Halls." He said.

I learned that the Halls were the parts of the mountains where the vampires lived.

While we rested, I checked on Madame Octa. She'd been sleeping almost all of the journey. As I was pulling th ecloth off her cage, I noticed another spider. It wasn't nearly as big as Octa, but it definantly wasn't a little thing.

I sat on my knees and inched closer to inspect my new friend. "Hey buddy!" I cooed.

"Find something interesting?" Mr. Crepsely asked.

"Spider." I said. "I mean, other than Madame Octa."

"Oh." Gavner grinned. "The mountain is full of them."

I looked at the spider on the floor and started inching back from it. "Are they venomous?" I asked.

"Nah. Their bite's no worse than a bee sting." He said.

Curiosity took over and I removed the cloth on Octa's cage to see how she would react. When she saw the other spider, she took no notice of it, as the squirrel in the tree ignores the dog on the ground, knowing it can't reach him. The spider crawled over her cage, and she still ignored it.

After it left I fed Octa and replaced the cloth. I turned to see that both vampires were getting ready to sleep, so I lay down and drifted to sleep.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I thought I heard a sound like children giggling. I sat up straight and strained my ears. Silence.

"What's wrong?" Gavner groaned, opening one eye sleepily.

"Dreaming." I said and lay back down on the hard floor od the tunnel. "Are there any vampire children in the mountain?"

"No." He said, closing his eye. "You're the only blooded kid as far as I know."

I glared at him, found a pebble, and threw it at him. It hit its mark and Gavner laughed, rubbing his forehead.

We both went back to sleep.

oOo

Later when we woke up we proceeded farther into the mountain. I didn't know how long we had been asleep but I felt the same as when I had gone to sleep. We followed the tunnels marked with arrows. After a while, we came to a large wooden door blocking the path.

Crepsley knocked on the door with his knuckles. There was not immediate answer and I couldn't hear anything except for our breathing. So he knocked a second time. Then a third. I was going to ask if this meant we had to go back again, but I could hear someone on the other side. It opened and torchlight filled the tunnel we were in, blinding me, and probably the others as well.

There was a man with a spear, wearing green clothes. The man was wearing the green. Not the spear. He looked around at all of us, and gripped his spear tighter when his eyes landed on Harkat and myself.

"Address yourselves to the gate," the man (I assumed was a guard) said.

"I am Larten Crepsley, come to seek Council." Mr. Crepsley said.

"I am Gavner Purl, come to seek Council." Gavner said.

I glanced at Crepsley, who nodded. "I am Lily Shan, come to seek Council."

"I am... Harkat Mulds, come... to seek Council." Harkat wheezed.

"Larten Crepsley and Gavner Purl are recognized by the gate. But these other two..." He pointed the tip of his spear at Harkat and I.

"They are our traveling companions," Crepsley said. "The girl is my assistant, a half-vampire."

"Do you vouch for her?" The guard asked.

"I do."

"Then Lily Shan is recognized by the gate." But his spear did not move. "But this is no vampire. What business has he at the Council?"

"His name is Harkat Mulds. He is a Little Person-"

"A Little Person?" He moved his spear and kneeled to see Harkat's face. "He's an ugly specimen, isn't he?"

I huffed and glared at him. If he hadn't been holding that spear I would have cursed him seven ways and told him off. On top of that, Crepsley shot me a glare of his own. I didn't like people messing with my friends.

"I thought the Little People couldn't speak." He said.

"We all thought that, but they can. At least, this one can." Mr. Crepsley said. "He has a message for the Princes, to be delivered in person."

"A message from who?" The guard asked.

"Desmond Tiny." Mr. Crepsely replied. There was that name again. Even now, hundreds of miles away from anywhere he could possibly be. The name still gave me chills.

The guard dropped his jaw for a second, stood at attention, and said quickly, "The Little Personknown as Harkat Mulds is recognized by the gate. The Halls are open to all of you."

He stepped aside and let us pass. A few seconds after we entered, the door shut behind us, a dull boom echoing through the halls.

oOo

One of the guards that were dressed in the green, excorted us to a hall called the Hall of Osca Velm. So, appearantly the halls are named after famous vampires. The room was warmed and lit by a few fires. I was relieved to finally be out of the cold. There were benches where the arriving vampires could rest and eat. Also there was al large black stone with names carved into it of the vampires that had arrived. I highly doubted that I would see any names I would recognize but I read the list anyways.

There were only a few more vampires in the Hall with us, and a few guards. A vampire with long hair came over to us as we sat down. He was carrying two barrels and set them down in front of us. One was filled with bread, and the other with meat. Then he came back with jugs filled with blood, wine and water. I watched as the other vampires drank straight from the jug. No cups.

I drank straight from the jug as I had seen everyone else do. It was fun. Sort of reminded me of being a little kid again. Except when I soaked the front of my shirt and then had to empty my lungs of the water. Wine didn't interest me, but I hadn't had blood in a long time. The blood I drank more carefully and it only made it to my chin.

I tore pieces of the meat with my teeth and nails. It was bland but it was food. The bread was stale but the vampire brought bowls of broth. It was steaming and smelled amazing.

"Not having any?" I asked Crepsley as I dipped some of the bread into the broth. It made it easier to chew and it was delicious.

"Bat broth does not agree with me." He said.

I smiled. "You're joking right?"

"No. I do not like it." He said. Not what I had meant.

"This is really made from _bats_?" I stared at the dark liquid.

"Of course!" Gavner said. "What did you think it was made of?"

"Sunshine and farts, nobody ever said what it was made from. Gross!" I moaned.

"Don't be stupid, you loved it when you didn't know what it was! Just pretend it's chicken soup and eat it already." Gavner laughed.

"Actually I'm full." I said. I really was. My nerves made it hard to eat anyways. I always felt nervous when going to new places. Excited.

I glanced at Harkat who was all but licking his bowl clean. "You don't care either?" I asked.

"I have no taste... buds. Dirt, rat, cockroach,...bat, all taste... the same to me." He said.

"I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing the cockroach part." I laughed.

"I have no sense... of smell either. That's why... I have no... nose." He said.

"I meant to ask you about that." Ganver said. "If you can't smell without a nose, how can you hear without ears?"

"They're under... my skin." He said pointing to either side of his head. Gavner leaned down to examine Harkat's head.

"Oh, I see them!" He said. I looked too. Sure enough, under the skin were the ears. "You can hear in spite of the skin stretched over them?"

"Not as well... as vampires, but... better than... humans."

I was going to ask Harkat more about his sense, or lack thereof, when an older vampire dressed in red, sat down opposite of Mr. Crepsely. "I was expecting you weeks ago," He smiled. "What took you so long?"

"Seba!" Crepsley shouted. He nearly leapt over the table to clasp the newcomer on the shoulder. This threw me off guard. I've never seen anyone get that kind of reaction out of him! Little did I know, I was in for more.

"It has been a long time old friend!" He said.

"Too long." The other one, Crepsley called Seba, said. He ran his eyes over Harkat and I. "Are you going to introduce me to your friends, Larten?"

"Of course," Mr. Crepsely said. "You know Gavner Purl."

"Gavner." Seba nodded.

"Seba." Gavner replied.

"This is Harkat Mulds." Crepsley said motioning to Harkat.

"A Little Person," Seba noted. "I have not seen one of those since Mr. Tiny visited us when I was a boy. Greetings, Harkat Mulds."

"Hello." Karkat said.

"He _talks_?" Seba exclaimed.

"Wait until you hear what he has to say." Crepsely said with a sigh. He turned to me. "This is my assistant, Lily Shan."

"Greetings, Lily Shan." Seba smiled at me. He looked at Mr. Crepsley with a strange look. "You, Larten, with an assistant?"

"I know," Mr. Crepsley sighed. "I always said I would never take one."

"Yeah, I seem to have a mind changing effect on people that way." I said. It wasn't completely true, or at least I hadn't thought so until right now.

"And so young." Seba murmured. "The Princes will not approve."

"Actually, she was almost eighteen when I blooded her." Crepsley said.

"Hmm..." Seba sighed. "Maybe they will be more lenient on that account."

"Almost forgot," Crepsley suddenly said. "Lily, Harkat- This is Seba Nile, the quartermaster of Vampire Mountain, do not let his age fool you- he is as sly, cunning and quick as any vampire, and will get the better of those who try and best him."

"As you know from expierence." Seba laughed. "Do you remember when you set out to steal half a vat of my finest wine and replace it with a lesser vintage?"

"Please," Mr. Crepsley said, looking pained. "I was young and foolish. There is no reason to remind me."

I almost choked. "You were young once?" I asked in disbelief.

"I think you're missing the point of the conversation." Gavner whispered in my ear.

"Okay... what happened?" I actually was likeing how he was uncomfortable about this story.

"He got to the wine first," He muttered. "Emptied the vat and replaced it with vinegar. I had swallowed half the bottle before I realized. I spent the rest of the night retching."

"No!" Gavner burst out laughing.

"Half?" I asked. "How could you go through _half_ a bottle without... If it was from a good year why did you chug... HALF?" I was laughing along with Gavner.

"I was young," Mr. Crepsely growled. "I did not know better."

"But I taught you, Larten, did I not?" Seba remarked with a smile.

"Yes." Creplsey smiled. "Seba was my tutor. I learned most of what I know at his hands."

I would have made a quick and witty remark if I had had one. The three vampires started talking about old times, and I sat listening, only understanding most of what they were talking about. I started daydreaming after a while. Or maybe it was already night. I couldn't tell.

I only realized I was starting to fall asleep when Mr. Crepsley shook me awake. My eyes slowly opened.

"Hmm..." I stretched my arms behind my back. "It just kinda sneaks up on ya doesn't it?"

"The girl is tired." Seba said.

"She has never made the journey before." Mr. Crepsely said.

"Come." Seba said. "I will find rooms for you. She is not the only one who needs rest. We can talk tomorrow."

As quartermaster of Vampire Mountain, Seba was in charge os the stores and living quarters. It was his job to make sure there was enough to eat and drink for everyone (including blood), and that every vampire had somewhere to sleep. Though he had other vampires who did the same thing, they worked for him. He was the main guy. So, aside from the Princes, Seba was the most respected vampire in the mountain.

As he led us through the mountain, I walked beside him and he pointed out different halls, told me their names and what they were for. I couldn't remember names, let alone the names of these halls, so most of it went over my head.

"It will take a while to adjust." He said, seeing my lost gaze. "For the first few nights you may feel lost. But in time you will grow accustomed to the place.

The network of tunnels that led us from the Halls to the sleeping quarters was cold and damp, despite the torches burning. Seba asked if we wanted one big room between us, or if we'd rather have seperate quarters.

"Seperate." Crepsley immediately replied. "I had enough of Gavner's snoring on the trail."

"Charming." Gavner huffed.

"I don't mind sharing a room with anyone." I said. I didn't like being alone. Expecially now that I was in a place I had never been before.

"Same." Harkat agreed.

All the rooms had coffins instead of beds, but Seba must have noticed my discomfort he told me I could have a hammok if I wished.

"Yes! Thank you!" Glad to not have to sleep in a coffin. Once in a lifetime was enough for me.

"I will send on of my staff tomorrow." He promised. "Tell him what you need."

As Seba turned to go, Crepsley called to him. "Wait. I have something to show you."

"Oh?" Seba smiled.

"Lily," Mr. Crepsely said, "fetch Madame Octa."

_So _this_ was why we brought her!_

When Seba Nile saw the spider, his breath caught in his throat and he gazed at it as though mesmerized.

"Oh, Larten," He sighed. "What a beauty!" He took the cage from me and opened the door.

"Don't! She's venomous!" I hissed.

He only smiled. "I have never met a spider I have not been able to charm." He said as he reached into the cage.

"You sure? I mean-" I started.

"It is alright, Lily." Mr. Crepsley said. "Seba knows what he is doing."

Seba coaxed the spider into his hand and he lifter her out of the cage. I watched as she crawled up his arm, and once on his shoulder, nestled under his chin. She was completely relaxed. I was shocked.

"She is marvelous," Seba said. "You must tell me more about her when you have a chance. I thought I knew of all spiders in existance, but this one is new to me."

"I thought you would like her." Mr. Crepsley beamed. "That is why I brought her. She is a gift to you."

"You would part with such a wonderful spider?" Seba asked.

"For you, old friend- anything."

Seba smiled but sighed. "I must regretfully refuse." He shook his head. "I am old, and not as sprightly as I used to be. I do not have the time to care for such an exotic pet."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Crepsely asked. I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"I would love to take her but I cannot." He placed Madame Octa carefully back in her cage and handed it to me. "Only the young have the energy to tend to the needs of spiders of such caliber. Look after her, Lily."

"M-me?" I was about to say no, but when I saw the look in his eyes, I could not refuse. "I'll take good care of her." I promised. I once thought I had what it took to take care of Octa. Until she bit my best friend and led me to becoming a half-vampire.

"Now," Seba said, standing up. "I must go. You are not the only new arrivals. Until we meet again- farewell."

I glanced at Mr. Crepsley, he seemed disappointed.

There were no doors to the rooms. Just big holes in the walls. But despite the lack of insulation, they were very warm.

Mr. Crepsley and Gavner said goodnight before disappearing through the doors of their rooms.

Harkat and I entered our room and stared at the coffins. "I don't think you are going to fit in that." I noted.

"I can sleep... on the floor." He replied.

"Okay. See you tonight... wait. Or is it morning?" I asked, feeling stupid after I tried looking around for a window.

I shrugged and opened my coffin, staring into the wooden box. It wasn't as scary as I remembered. The thought of finally benig able to sleep was very inviting though. I guess I could deal with twice in a life time.

oOo

_A.N.: Well. That was a long chapter. Do not expect me to make a habit of this though. I only did it this time because I could not really find a place to break it off. So much happened so I just figured I would break it in the same place Darren Shan did in the book. _


	20. Chapter 20 Cold Water and Kurda

I do not own Cirque Du Freak. Sad. I know.

oOo

I woke up sore. My muscles were stiff and I felt like I had worked out like crazy the day before. It could have been from sleeping hard. Nightmares tended to do that to me. Or maybe it was because of the trek here.

Harkat was standing next to the second coffin when I finally woke up. His green eyes were wide open. They were not bright emerald like Crepsley's. Harkat's were darker. I stretched my sore limbs and said good morning. He continued staring blankly, then shook his head. "Good morning." He replied.

"Have you been up long?" I asked as I got out of the coffin.

"Just woke... now. When you... spoke to me. Sleep standing... up." He said.

"Your eyes, they were open." I said.

He nodded. "Always are. No lids."

"Can you see things while you sleep?" I asked.

"Yes but take... no notice of... them."

Gavner appeared in the entrance of our room. "Rise and shine kids!" He boomed. "Night's wearing on. There's work to be done. Anyone hungry? Say, for bat broth?"

"Hungry even for bat broth." I smiled. I felt like I was starving. I asked where the bathroom was. Gavner lead me down another hall and to a door. WC was etched into the wooden plank above the door.

"WC?" I asked.

"Water closet." He said, then paused. "Don't fall in!"

I thought he was making some sort of joke until I stepped inside and realized, he was serious. It wasn't a toilet. Just a big hole in the floor. There was a stream beneath the floor, one of the mountain streams.

I did my business and we made our way to the Hall of Khledon Lurt. It was the hall where vampire ate their meals.

Red drapes hung from the ceiling and torches flaired brightly spreading a warm and home-like atmpsphere. The hall was almost full when we entered. We walked up to a table where Crepsley, Seba and a bunch of other vampires I did not know were. I was given another bowl of bat broth. This time I wasn't so disgusted about the thought of eating it.

This was the most vampires I had ever seen in my life. And in one place. I glanced around after I had wolfed down two bowls of broth and a few handfuls of meat and bread. They looked no different from a crowd of humans. Save for the ghostly pale skin and scars.

They smelled and looked like they lived in the poverty of the eighteenth century. Most were probably born in it. The vampires didn't care much for taking a bath. There was so much soot and dirt in the mountain that it was impossible to stay clean.

I noticed almost no women. After a long time of scanning the huge room, I finally spotted one in a corner, and another serving food. Besides that, the vampires were all men. There were also hardly any older vampires either. I asled Seba about this.

"Very few vampires live to be a ripe, old age." He replied. "While vampires live much longer than humans, very few of us make it to our vampiric sixties or seventies."

"Vampiric meaning...?" I asked. Though I had a pretty good idea of what he would say.

"Vampires measure age in two ways- earth years and vampire years. Physically, I am in my eighties. Earth age refers to how long the vampire has been alive. So I am seven hundred years old."

My jaw dropped. Seven _hundred_. No, mayeb I should say: _Seven_ hundred? To have lived seven hundred years ago, he must have seen alot.

"So why do most vampires not live to their vampiric sixties or seventies?" I asked.

"Vampires live hard. We push ourselves to the limit. Hardly any want to sit around in their pajamas and slippers, growing old quietly. Most, when they grow too old to care for themselves, meet death on their feet, rather than let their friends look after them."

It made sense to me. Otherwise they'd be wasting all their awesome talents and superhuman abilities. "Seems like fun, but why do you push yourselves so hard?"

"It is our way." Crepsley said.

"Also we have more time on our hands than humans, so it is less precious to us. If in vampire years, a sixty year old man was blooded in his twenties, he will have lived for four hundred years. A man grows tired of life when he has lived so much of it."

Gavner rose before we finished eating and said he had to leave. He asked Harkat to come with him.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To the Hall of Princes." He replied. "I must present myself to the Princes and tell them about the dead vampire and vampaneze we discovered. I also want to introduce Harkat, so he can pass on his message."

When they left, I asked Mr. Crepsley why we didn't go with them. "It is not our place to present ourselves to the Princes," He said. "Gavner is a General, so he has the right to ask to see the Princes. As ordinary vampires, we must wait to be invited before them."

"But you were a General." I reminded him. "So you're saying, if you just popped in to say hello, they'd kick you out?" I said with a smile.

"Of course they would." Mr. Creplsey scowled, then turned to Seba and sighed. "She is slow to learn our ways."

Seba laughed. "And you are slow to learn the ways of the teacher. You forget how eagerly you questioned our way of life when you were blooded. I recall the night when you stormed into my chambers and swore you would never become a General. You said Generals we backward imbeciles, and we should be looking to the future, not dwelling in the past."

"I never said that!" Crepsely gasped.

I laughed. "Are _all_ Generals backward imbeciles?" I asked, receiving a glare that shut me up, but I didn't stop smiling.

"You certainly did." Seba insisted. "You were a fiery youth. I should expect nothing less from your own assistant. Students never appreciate their teachers while learning. Good teachers expect no praise from the young. They wait for it, and in time, it comes."

"Are you scolding me?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Yes." Seba smiled. "You are a fine vamprire, Larten, but you have much to learn about teaching."

I sat there, grinning at the pair. "This is better than television!" I said.

"Stop smirking!" He said when he saw me.

"Now hold on," I scolded. "You heard what he said,- be patient- strive to understand me."

Something smacked into the back of my head, and without looking I knew that it was Crepsley's hand. I started laughing.

Mr. Creplsey grinned sheepishly at Seba. "She is going to give me gray hair." He sighed.

We laughed together while the rest of the vampires went on about their lives around us.

oOo

After breakfast, Mr. Crepsely showed be where the showers were. I was so ready to wash off after the journey, even if I was going to get dirty again anyways. As we walked, I heard more running water. Much louder than the Water Closets though.

"This is the hall of Perta Vin-Grahl." Mr. Crepsely told me as we walked into a room.

It was a huge cavern with two natural waterfalls, set together maybe ten feet apart, to the right of the door. There was a pond at the bottom, I later learn was actually made by the vampires, and the water flowed out of a hold near the back of the cavern.

"What do you think of the waterfalls?" Mr. Crepsely asked over the sound of the roaring water.

"They're beautiful." I replied. They really were. "So, where are the showes?"

He didn't say anything. Only grinned.

I sighed. Nothing was going to be easy here. "It must be freezing." I noted.

"It is." He agreed. "But there are no other bathing facilities in Vampire Mountain, so I suggest you make it quick!"

I was about to say something back, but he laughed, and made his way over to one of the waterfalls where he started to strip.

I groaned loudly, but walked to the second one. I'd been so eager to finally get cleaned, I knew he'd never let me live it down if I just backed out now. I slipped out of my own clothes and walked to the edge of the pond. Rather than inching my way in slowly, I continued walking until I was waist deep in the icy water. My breath hitched in my throat before I even made it to the waterfall. I held my arms across my chest but it didn't make me any warmer. When I finally caught my breath, I surrendered myself to the mercy of the waterfall. It stole my breath again.

I yelped at the sudden shock of ice. "T-t-this isss... torture!" I roared to Crepsley.

"Aye!" He shouted. "Now you understand why so few vampires bother to wash while at Council!"

I rubbed my scalp and as much as my body as fast as I could, so I could get away from the freeze. Strangely enough, or maybe not so strange, I slowly adjusted to the cold. Though I still shivered and my limbs had the cold numb, it wasn't bothering me as much as it had. "S-so, no hot water?"

"No." Mr. Crepsley said as he stepped out and ran his hand through his orange hair, before shaking it dry like a dog.

There were big thick towels placed next to the pond. They were prickly and kind of itched when I wrapped it around myself. After a while, I could feel the blood in my limbs again as the warmth returned. I sighed. Happy I had gotten that over with.

"Bracing," Mr. Crepsely commented as he dried himself off.

Murder, more like. Though I did like the originality of the primitive shower.

I quickly slipped back into my clothes and rubbed my scalp with the towel to dry my hair as best as I could. It was still really wet even after Crepsely has long been dressed and waiting on me. I gave up and left it to air dry.

By the time we had emerged from the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl, word of Harkat's message had spread like wildfire. Harkat had told the Princes that the night of the Vampaneze Lord was at hand, and the vampires... well they were pissed. They were all milling around the halls and passing the message on to those who had not heard.

Mr. Crepsely was supposed to take me on a tour, but we postponed because of the commotion. We returned to our rooms. When I got back, I found that the coffins had been replaced with hammocks. At first I was worried about being cold, but I noticed blankets were folded on the floor next to the hammocks. I spread mine over the bed. It was thick and soft. A vampire came in and asked us if we waned new clothes.

We thanked him and he led us to the storerooms to be outfitted. He took us to the room where the spare clothes were and left us to pick whatever we wanted.

I wanted to find one like the pirate costume I never got to try on when I was at the Cirque, but there wasn't one. I grabbed a random shirt, sweatshit and a pair of pants. the shirt was green and loose. I found a small shash and tied it around my waist to make it more fitted. The sweatshirt was a dark red, maybe faded marroon sweatshirt with a black, insulated hood, it fit but was a bit long. The pants were dark navy, but not jeans.

It wasn't a pirate outfit, but I was pleased with my findings. Though it was all mens clothing.

Mr. Crepsley dressed in all red. I wasn't really surprised. It was while he was adjusting his cape that I realized how similar his style was to Seba's. I mentioned it to him.

He smiled. "I have copied many of Seba's ways. Not just his way of dressingm, but also his way of speaking. I did not always use these precise, measured tones. When I was your age, I ran my words together the same as anybody. Years spent in the company of Seba taught me to slow down and consider my words before speaking."

"Oh god. I might end up like you one day?" I asked. I was half joking. I didn't like the thought of being so serious.

"You might." He said. "Though I would not bet on it. Seba commanded my utmost respect, so I tried hard to copy what he did. You on the other hand, seemed to be determined to do the opposite of everything I say." He said, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"You act like you're a single parent battling a headstrong teenag- ohhh..." I smirked. "Almost walked right into that one." I said. "I... I'm not all _that_ bad." Though I did see what he meant.

I admired Mr. Crepsley more than he knew, but I never wanted to seem like a pushover did whatever she was told. Yeah, I was stubborn. I sometimes disobeyed the vampire just so he wouldn't think I was paying attention to him.

"That's what teenagers do though." I agreed.

"Only for a few more years." He reminded. "Besides, I have neither the heart or the will to punish you when you make mistakes, as Seba punished me."

"Why? What did he do?" I asked.

"He was a fair but hard teacher." He said. "When I told him of my desire to mimic him, he began paying close attention to my vocabulary. Whenever I said 'don't' or 'it's' or 'can't' he would pluck a hair from inside my nose!"

"No way!" I gasped.

"It is true." He said glumly.

"Ow." I said.

Mr. Crepsely nodded. "I asked him to stop. I said I no longer cared to copy him. But he would not. He believes in finishing what one starts."

_So do you._ I thought.

"After several months of having the hairs ripped fom inside my nostrils, I decided to singe them with a red-hot rod- not something I would recomment you try!- so they would not grow back."

"What did he do?" I asked.

"He began plucking hairs from my ears." He sighed.

"How old were you when you were blooded?" I asked. I had been wondering this for a very long time.

"I was eighteen when I was made a half-vampire, and if I remember correctly, I was twenty five when I became a full vampire." He said.

"Same as I was." I noted. I was going to ask if he planned on blooding me when I turned twenty five. Then I remembered that I was already twenty six! I guess he'll make me a full vampire when he thinks I'm ready. "What made you want to be a vampire?"

"If I had known that bringing you here would cause you to ask me so many questions, we would have stayed at the Cirque du Freak!" He joked.

"You're just avoiding the question." I shot back with a smile on my face. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." I added as I started putting on my shoes.

The door burst open and a slender vampire in a blue suit, leapt in and shut the door behind him quickly. He stood by the door, breathing heavily as though he had been running. He had not noticed us, until Mr. Crepsley called to him. "Is that you Kurda?"

"No!" He yelled and grabbed for the handle. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "Larten?"

"Yes," Mr. Crepsley replied.

"That's different." The vampire sighed and walked over. He had three small red scars on his left cheek that were familiar. "I was hoping to run into you. I wanted to ask you about this Harkat Mulds person and his message. Is it true?"

Mr. Crepsely shrugged. "I have only heard the rumor. He said nothing to us about it on our way here." Mr. Crepsley said, remembering our promise to Harkat.

"Not a word of it?" The vampire asked, leaning against the wall across from us.

"He told us the message was for the Vampire Princes only." I said.

The vampire eyes me curiously. "You must be the Lily Shan I've been hearing about." He shook my hand. "I'm Kurda Smahlt."

"People are talking about me?" I asked. _Great_. I guess I was just grouped in with Mr. Crepsely and Gavner because we brought Harkat.

"What were you running from?" Mr. Crepsely asked.

"Questions, of which I don't have the answers to most of." He groaned. "As soon as word of the Little Person and his message circulated, everyone ran to me to ask if it was true."

"Why should they ask you?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

"Because I know more about the vampaneze than most. And because of my investiture- it's amazing how must you're expected to know when you move up in the world."

"Gavner Purl told me about that. Congratulations," Mr. Crepsely said. There was a stiff tone in his voice. I wasn't the only one to notice though.

"You don't approve," Kurda noted.

"I did not say that."

"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face. But I don't mind. You're not the only one who objects. I'm used to the controversy."

"Uhh..." They both looked at me. "Sorry to interrupt, but what is an investiture?"

"That's what they call it when you move up in the organization." Kurda explained. He had a light way of speaking. His lips and eyes seemed to have an almost permanent. He reminded me of Gavner that way so I took an immediate liking to him.

"Where are you moving to?" I asked.

"The top." He smiled. "I'm being made a Prince. There'll be a big ceremony and a lot of to-do. It'll be a dull affair, I'm afraid, but there's no way around it. Centuries of tradition, standards to uphold, et cetera."

He seemed to like talking.

"You should not speak dismissively of your investiture," Mr. Crepsley growled."It is a great honor."

"I know." Kurda sighed. "I just wish people wouldn't make such a big deal of it. It's not like I've done anything wondrous."

"How _do_ you become a Vampire Prince?" I asked.

"Why?" Kurda smiled. "Thinking of applying for the job?"

"No." I returned. "Just curious."

"There's no fixed way." He said. "To become a General, you study for a set number of years and pass regular tests. Princes on the other hand, are selected periodically and for different reasons. Usually a Prince is someone who's earned the trust and admiration of his colleagues. One of the established Princes nominates him. If the other Princes agree, he's automatically elevated up the ranks. If one objects, the Generals vote and the majority decision decides the fate. If two or more Princes object, the motion's rejected.

"I squeezed in by the vote." He grinned. "Fifty-four percent of the Grnerals think I'll make a fitting Prince."

"It was the tightest vote ever." Mr. Crepsley said. "Kurda is only a hundred and twenty years old, making him one of the youngest Princes ever, and many Generals believe he is too young to command their respect."

"Come now," Kurda said. "Don't cover up for me and leave her thinking it's my age they object to. Here, Lily." He bent his arm so he flexed his biceps. "What do you think?"

I grinned wickedly. "Mine are bigger!" It wasn't true but he howled with laughter.

"You're right though, they're pretty small. Every other Prince has muscles the size of bowling balls. The Princes have always been the biggest, toughestm bravest vampires. I'm the first to be nominated because of _this_." He tapped his head. "My _brain_."

"You're smarter than everyone?" I asked. He really did like talking.

"Way smarter." He said, then made a face. "Not really." He sighed. "I just use my brain more than most. I don't believe the vampire should stick to the old ways as rigidly as they do. I think we should move forward abd adapt to life in the twenty-first century. More than anything else, I believe we should strive to make peace with our estranged brothers- the vampaneze."

Memories of Murlough flashed back to me. Evra screaming, Dara, the man in the slaughterhouse.

"Kurda is the first vampire since the signing of the peace treaty to consort with the vampaneze." Mr. Crepsely said gruffly. He was definitely on edge about this guy.

"Consort?" I asked.

"I've been meeting with them." Kurda explained. "I've spent the last thirty or forty years tracking them down, talking, getting to know them. That's where I got my scars." He tapped the left side of his face. "I had to agree to let them mark me- it was a way of offering myself to them and placing myself at their mercy.

"The vampaneze aren't as different from us as most vampires believe." Kurda continued. "Many would jump at the chance to return to the fold. Compromises will have to be made- both sides must back down on certain issues- but I'm sure we can come to terms and live together again."

"That is why he is being invested." Mr. Crepsley said. "A lot of Generals- fifty-four percent in any case- think it it time we reunited with the vampaneze. The vampaneze trust Kurda but are reluctant to commit to negotiations with other Generals. When Kurda is a Prince, he will have total control over the Generals. So if he sends a vampire along to discuss terms, the vampaneze will trust him and sit down to talk. Or so the reasoning goes."

"You don't agree with it, Larten?"

"There is much about the vampaneze that I admire, but I would not be so quick to give them a voice among the Princes."

"You think they might use me to force more of their beliefs on us than we force on them." Kurda suggested.

"Something like that."

Kurda shook his head. "I'm looking to create a tribe of equals. I wouldn't force any changes through that the other Generals and Princes don't agree with."

"If that is so, luck to you. But things are happening too fast for my liking. Were I a General, I would have campaigned as hard as I could against you."

"I hope I live long enough to prove your distrust of me ill-founded." Kurda sighed. Then he turned to me. "What do you think? Is it time for a change?"

"I... don't know enough about the vampire and vampaneze to offer an opinion." I said.

"Nonsense! Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Go on, Lily. I like to know what's on people's minds. It would be a simpler and safer place if we all spoke our thoughts."

I glanced at Crepsely. "Well..." I looked back at Kurda. "I'm not too thrilled about the way they kill humans when they drink from them. If you could persuade them to stop killing, it might be a good thing."

"This kid has brains!" Kurda smiled. "What you said just about sums up my own arguments in a nutshell. Wouldn't it be worth giving up a few of our ways if we could stop the murder?"

"Most likely!" I agreed.

"Hurm!" Mr. Crepsely grunted, and wouldn't talk anymore about the subject. I gave him a smile. He raised an eyebrow in return.

"Anyway," Kurda said. "I can't stay hidden forever. You sure there's nothing you can tell me about the Little Person and his message?"

"Afraid not." Mr. Crepsely said curtly.

"Oh well. I suppose I'kk find out more when I report to the Hall of Princes and see him myself. I hope you enjoy your stay at Vampire Mountain, Lily. We must get together once the chaos has died down and hace a proper chat."

Out of the corner of my eye I caught my mentor twitch at this. I felt a smile creep on my face.

"I'd like that." I grinned.

"Larten." He saluted Mr, Crepsley.

"Kurda."

He let himself out. Behind the door I heard someone call his name as he went to face the questions.

"He's nice." I said. "I couldn't help but notice that you're not too fond of him."

Mr. Crepsely scratched the long scar on his face as he glanced at me sideways. He looked thoughtfully at the door Kurda had disappeared through. "Hmm..." Was his only reply.

_A.N.: So here is the first long chapter I have made in a while. I did notice that they were getting to be just under 14 KB. This one being about 20 like the first few chapters. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. So, I think this is about where my story is going to stray the path of Darren Shan. Somewhere here._


	21. Chapter 21 Tour Du Halls

Disclaimer: Refer to all previous chapters.

oOo

A few nights had passed since I met Kurda. I took every minute to get used to the new atmosphere I found myself in. I hadn't seen much of Harkat. He had been kept in the Hall of Princes to answer questions. I spent most of my time hanging out with Mr. Crepsely in the Hall of Khledon Lurt, or down in the stores with him and Seba Nile. Crepsley had a lot of catching up to do, with many old friends.

Seba Nile was more disturbed by Harkat's message than most of the other vampires. He was the second oldest vampire in the mountain. The oldest was the Vampire Prince, Paris Skyle. He was over eight hundred. Both were there at the time Mr. Tiny visited and made his announcement all those centuries ago.

"A lot of today's vampires do not believe the old stories." He said. "They think Mr. Tiny's warning was something we made up to frighten young vampires. But I remember they way Mr. Tiny looked when he warned us. The Vampaneze lord is no figure of legend. He is real. And now, it seems, he is coming."

He lapsed into silence. He had been drinking a mug of beer but had lost interest in it.

"He's not here yet." I pointed out.

"My thoughts exactly." Mr. Crepsely agreed. "Mr. Tiny is as old as time itself. When he says the night is at hand, he might mean hundreds or thousands of years from now."

Seba shook his head. "We have had our hundreds of years- seven centuries to make a stand and tackle the vampaneze. We should have finished them off, regardless of the consequences. Better to have been driven to the point of extinction by humans than wiped out entirely by the vampaneze."

"That is foolish talk," Mr. Crepsley snapped. "I would rather take my chances with a mythical Vampaneze Lord than a real, stake-wielding human. So would you."

Seba nodded glumly and sipped his beer again. "You are probably right. I am old. My brain does not work as sharply as it used to. Perhaps my worries are those of an old man who has lived too long.

The third night after Harkat had delivered his message, Kurda turned up outside our chambers, as upbeat as ever. Compared to all the other vampires who were tense with the news, he seemed oblivious to the idea. Or in sweet denial.

"Greetings!" He smiled. "I've had a hectic two nights, but things are calming down at last and I have a few free hours. I thought I'd take Lily on a tour of the Halls."

"Great!" I beamed. "Mr. Crepsley was going to take me but we got side-tracked."

"You don't mind if I escort her, Larten?" Kurda asked.

"Not in the slightest," Mr. Crepsely said. "I am overwhelmed that one of your eminence has found the time to act as a guide so close to your investiture." He said it cuttingly. I threw him a glare which was met with a small grin. Kurda either missed ot ignored the vampire's sarcasm.

"You can tag along if you want," Kurda offered cheerfully.

"No thank you." Mr. Crepsley smiled thinly.

"Okay," Kurda said. "Your loss. Ready, Lily?" He asked as he headed out.

"Ready." I said, throwing a questioning glance at Crepsley, before following Kurda.

oOo

Kurda took me to the kitchens first. They were huge caves built deep beneath most of the Halls. Large fires burning. The cooks worked around the clock during times of the Council. They had to in order to feed all of the visitors.

"It's quieter the rest of the time," Kurda said. "There are usually no more than thirty vampires in residence. You often have to cook for yourself if you don't eat with the rest at set times."

"If we stay after Council is over, remind me not to miss a meal!" I laughed.

"Not a good cook?" Kurda asked.

"I... I burn things." I said. "Just ask Crepsely."

From there Kurda took me to the breeding Halls. There were cows, sheep, and goats kept and bred in there.

"We'd never be able to ship in enough milk and meat to feed all the vampires." Kurda explained.

"What about the human blood?" I asked.

"Generous donors." Kurda said and continued. I got the feeling that he was avoiding the question with such a simple answer.

The Hall of Cremation was our next stop. It was where vampires who had died, were cremated.

"Is everyone cremated?" I asked.

"Not many vampires actually want to be buried, but if they do their wishes are respected." Kurda replied. "Not long ago, we'd lower the dead into an underground stream and let the water wash them away. There's a cave, far below the Halls, where one of the larger streams opens up. It's called the Hall of Final Voyage, although it's never used now. I'll show it to you if we're ever down that way."

"I thought those tunnels were only used to get in and out of the mountain." I said.

"One of my hobbies is mapmaking." Kurda explained. "I've been trying to make accurate maps of the mountain for decades. The Halls are easy but the tunnels are much more difficult. They've never been mapped, and a lot are in poor shape. I try to get down to them whenever I return, to map out a few more unknown regions, but I don't have as much time to work on them as I'd like. I'll have even less when I'm a Prince."

"It sounds like an interesting hobby." I said. "Could I come with you next time you go mapping? I'd like to see how it's done."

"You're really interested?" He sounded suprised.

"Why? Should I not be?" I asked.

"I'm used to vampires falling asleep whenever I start talking about maps." He laughed. "There's a saying among vampires: 'Maps are for humans.' Mose vampires would rather discover a new territory for themselves, than follow a map."

I noticed two women and a man sitting on a bench across the Hall. They were whispering to each other, and a young child was at their feet. They didn't look like vampires. They were thin and looked sick. Their skin was pale, almost as pale as a vampires. When they noticed us, they grabbed the child and fled through a door at the back of the room.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"The Guardians of this chamber." Kurda replied.

"Are they vampires?" I pressed. "I thought I was the youngest vampire at the mountain."

"You are." Kurda said.

"So who-"

"Ask me later!" He snapped. I blinked at his sharp tone, and he smiled an apology. "I'll tell you about them later. After the tour. I'm not usually superstitious but it's bad luck to talk about them here. And I don't was to test the fates whenever the Guardians are concerned."

"Those are pestles for bones." Kurda said, pointing to some large pots.

"What bones?" I asked, trying to get away from the Guardian subject.

"The bones of the vampires. Fire doesn't burn bones, so the bones are ground to dust," He said.

"What happens to the dust?" I asked.

"We use it to thicken the bat broth." He said.

"You know... I would have believed you, had your voice not gone up when you said that." I smiled. "What _really_ happens?"

He smirked and shook his head. "The dust is thrown into the winds around Vampire Mountain, setting the spirit of the dead vampire free."

"Does that happen to all the vampires after death?" I asked.

"Usually but you don't have to." Kurda replied. "Most vampires sleep in their coffins every night, so being buried in it seems senseless."

"If I'm dead then I don't think I'll care much what happens to my body. You can toss me to a hungry bear. Wait... no. Don't do that." I said quickly.

We left the Hall of Cremation and set out for the three Halls of Sport: The Hall of Basker Wrent, the Hall of Rush Flon'x, and the Hall of Oceen Pird.

I was excited to see the Halls, but as we made our way, Kurda bowed in front of a small door, closed his eyes, and touched his eyes with his finger tips.

"Why did you do that?" I asked as we continued.

"It's a custom," He said. I glanced back at the door.

"What that Hall called?" I asked.

"You don't want to go in there." He said after a moment.

"What it it?" I pressed.

"It's the Hall of Death." He said quietly.

"Another Cremation Hall?" I guessed, but I already had a different idea.

Kurda shook his head. "A place of execution."

My heart and brain both skipped a beat. "_Executions?_" I was really curious now. Kurda, seeing this, stopped and sighed.

"You want to go in?" He asked.

"Can I?" I asked.

He took a breath. "Yes... it's not a pretty sight."

"I'll be fine." I told him.

A moment later we were walking through the door. The Hall was poorly lit and at first, looked deserted. I spotted another white-skinned Guardian, sitting in the shadows at the other end of the room.

I looked up at Kurda expectantly but he shook his head again. "I'm _definitely_ not talking about them _here_!" He hissed.

I looked around the Hall for a while. It was only dark and gloomy. "What's so bad about this place?" I asked quietly.

"I'll show you." Kurda said. He guided me toward a pit I had not seen in the poor light. Inside the bottom of the pit were dozens of sharpened poles reaching up menacingly at the ceiling.

"Stakes!" I gasped.

This is where the legend of the stake through the heart, originated from. When a vampire, is brought to the Hall of Death, he is placed in a cage- those cages against the wall" He pointed. "Which are attached to roped and hoisted above the pit. He's then dropped from a height and impaled on the stakes. Death is slow and painful so it's not unusual for a vampire to be dropped three or four times before he dies."

"Why?" I asked.

"The old or crippled, along with the mad and treacherous vampires." He answered. "The old or crippled vampires ask to be killed. If they're strong enough, they prefer to fight to the death, or wander off into the wilderness and die hunting. Those who lack the strength or ability to die on their feet ask to come here, where the can meet their death head-on and die bravely."

I was quietly thinking about it for a moment. Kurda turned to me. "I bet their life flashed before their eyes. How do you think that would feel?" I asked.

He sighed. Disappointed. I thought he was at me, but he laughed. "I honestly can't imagine." He said. "Traitors," He continued, looking back to the pit. "Are sent here too. We've had six traitors here in the past four-hundred years that vampires have lived here.

"Do you give them blindfolds?" I asked.

"The mad vampires, yes, because it is merciful. Vampire that have chosen to die here, prefer to face death without one to show they are not afraid."

"I think I'd like to die hunting." I commented.

He smiled but headed to the door. "This is a gloomy place, best avoided. Let's go play some games.

I picked up the pace and eagerly followed him out of the room. Games! I forgot the whole reason I came on this tour.

oOo (-Rofl Bubbles!)

The Halls of Sport were gigantic caverns, full of shouting, cheering, high-spirited vampires. They were exactly what I needed to set my mood straight after the Hall of Death.

The games were seperated into the three halls, most of them were games of physical combat- wrestling, boxing, karate, weight lifting, etc- and speed chess because it sharpened ones reactions and wits.

We sat down in front of the wrestling ring. You had to have a sharp eye to keep up. It was like waching the match with the fast-forward button pressed.

The match wasn't just faster than normal, it was more brutal. Broken bones, bloody faces and bruises were the order of the night. Some vampires, Kurda told me, were killed or seriously injured.

The next ring had vampires jabbing each other with spears. It was like fencing only there was more blood.

I watched as a vampire had his upper arm sliced open. Only to laugh and compliment his opponent, before sealing his skin back.

"You should see when they fight for real," Someone said from behind us.

I looked to see a ginger-haired vampire with only one eye. He was wearing a dark blue leather tunic and pants. "They call this game the eyeballer," he informed me, "Because so many people lose an eye or two playing it."

"You know this from experience?" I asked staring at the empty eye socket and scars.

"I've seen it, but it's not how I lost mine." He laughed.

"How's that, then?" I asked.

"Lost it in a fight with a lion."

"Honest?" I asked.

"Honest."

"Lily, this is Vanez Blane," Kurda said. "Vanez, this is-"

"Lily Shan." Vanez nodded, shaking my hand. "I know her from the gossip. It's been a long time since one her age trod the Halls of Vampire Mountain."

"About two hundred years." Kurda agreed.

Somewhere in Vampire Mountain, Crepsley sneezed.

"Vanez is a games master." Kurda informed me.

"What does a games master do?" I asked.

"I keep an eye on things. That's all." Vanez said.

"He also trains vampires to fight." Kurda said. "Vanez is one of our most valued instructors. Most Generals of the last hundred years have studied under him. Myself included."

Vanez and Kurda showed me all the games and explained how they were played, and then showed me an assortment of weapons. Vanez told me their names and how they were used. Getting a few down to demonstrate.

"Vampires fight only hand to hand." Vanez explained. "We do not use missile devices, such as guns, bows, or slings."

"Things used to be even more backward." Kurda added. "Up until two hundred years ago, a vampire was only supposed to use a weapon of his own making."

"Okay, so... what happeded about "two hundred years ago" here?" I asked.

"I'd say the prespective of vampires came from a different generation." Kurda replied.

Vanez seemed to agree with this, because he didnt say anything.

Moving on, we came across a series of overlapping narrow planks. Vampire were balancing on the planks, jumping from one plank to another, trying to knock their opponents to the ground with long, round-ended staffs. There were six vampires in action when we arrived. A few minutes later, only one remained- a woman.

"Well done, Arra!" Vanez clapped. "Your sense of balance is as awesome as ever."

Arra leaped from the plank and landed beside us. She was dressed in a white shirt and beige pants. She had long dark hair tied behind her back. She looked about early thirties maybe.

"Kurda, Vanez," She greeted the vampires, then she fixed her cool, grey eyes on me. "And you are Lily Shan." She sounded unimpressed.

"Lily, this is Arra Sails." Kurda said. I smiled and extended my hand but she did nothing.

"Arra does not shake the hnads of those she doesn't respect." Vanez whispered.

"And she respects precious few of us." Kurda said aloud. "Still refusing to shake hands with _me_, Arra?"

"I will never shake the hand of one who does not fight," she said. The way she spoke and carried herself caught me off guard. "When you become a Prince, I will bow to you and do your bidding, but I will never shake your hand, even under threat of execution."

"I don't think Arra voted for me in the election." Kurda said humorously.

"_I_ didn't vote for you either," Vanez said with a wicked grin.

I stared at Arra.

"Something on your mind?" She asked.

"You remind me of someone." I said, thinking back on my life.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing." Kurda asked.

"Oh, I remember now! If my grandma was still alive... a-and forty years younger, you'd almsot look like she did." I smiled. She didn't. I coughed nervously.

Vanez and Kurda continued to talk with Arra. After a while, I realized that Arra was the first female vampire I had met. I asked about this. There was a silence. The two men looked embarrassed. I was going to let the matter drop when Arra glanced at me ans said, "Women do not make good vampires. The entire clan's barren, so the life doesn't appeal to many of us."

"Barren?" I inquired.

"We can't have children." She said.

I wasn't surprised. That was a myth I had believed. "That's why everyone's been so surprised by me." I realized. "This applies to half-vampires too, I assume?"

"I'm afraid so." Kurda said, frowning. "Larten never mentioned it?"

I shook my head. "No."

"This is bad," Kurda muttered. "This is very, very bad."

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Vampire are supposed to inform new recruits of such things before they blood them. It's one of the reasons we almost never blood children. To have blooded someone your age is bad enough, but to do it without telling you all the facts..." Kurda shook his head and shared a glum look with Arra and Vanez.

"Mr. Crepsley told me, that he was the same age as I was when he blooded me." I said.

"Regardless, you'll have to tell the Princes about this." Arra said.

"They must be informed," Kurda agreed. "But I'm sure Larten means to tell them himself. I'll wait and let him speak. It would be unfair to jump in before he has a chance to tell his side of the story. Will you teo keep this to yourselves?"

Vanez nodded immediately. After a moment, Arra did too. "But if he doesn't make mention of this soon..." She growled threateningly.

"W-will he be okay?" I asked. "Will Mr. Crepsley get into trouble for blooding me?"

Kurda shared another look with Arra and Vanez. "Probably not. Larten's a sly old vampire. He know's the ropes. They let him get away with it, I'm sure you can too."

"Now!" Said Vanez. "How would you like to try out the bars with Arra?"

"You mean I can go on the planks?" I asked excitedly.

"I'm sure we can find a staff to suit you. How about it, Arra? Any objections to fighting a smaller opponent?"

"It will be a novel expierence!" the vampiress mused. She hopped up to a plank and started to twirl her staff. It moved so fast, I realized I was about to get my ass kicked.

The three vampires spent the next hour or so showing me how to hold and use my staff, as well as balance on the bars.

"She won really hurt me... will she?" I asked.

"Only if you're not quick enough." Vanez laughed.

"Be careful." Kurda added.

"I'm sure she won't set out to seriously harm you. She's got nothing against you. He glanced up at Arra. "At least I _hope_ she won't!"

_A.N.: So yeah. Making you wait again for the fight! I've been out of school for a while now, and have been working on this story since I was in high school. 3 years if I remember correctly. On another note, I have been recieving PM's and emails from people asking when** I am going to ship whatever character with whatever other character**. So. Shipping was never something I had planned on doing. In the three years that I have been writing this, I did some growing up. So yes **I will be shipping characters**. But I want you to tell me who you want to see together. Tell me in a review or message me._


	22. Chapter 22 Making Vampire Friends

**Disclaimer: Refer to all previous chapters.**

To A Guest: I thank you for you review (Really!) But I do need to make some things clear. My spelling (and all grammar problems) stem from the fact that I do not have either a beta or Microsoft Word on my computer. I do all my writing in the form of Word Pad. Though being an english major does save me from A LOT of mistakes, it is not completely airtight.

Crepsley was actually 18 when he was first blooded. He say so in Birth of a Killer. And then I believe he mentions that he should have been around 30, before saying that he became a full vampire 5 years prior. Though in the movie they did change it, so I can see how people will think otherwise. Blame the director for delivering an epic pile of crap for a movie.

As for my OC, she mentions on a previous chapter that she was about to be 18 when she met Mr. Crepsley. I figured that a teenaged character would be easier for readers to relate to. So yes her dialogue should be that of a young adult. I apologize for the OOC-ness of Mr. Crepsely. When I write I get it directly from the books. I will be working on that xP

I know it might seem that I'm listing a bunch of information that you already know, but again: I am writing from the book.

To everyone else: I thank you for your reviews and messages. The most popular shipping seems to involve Lily with either Mr. Crepsley or Evra. (Though there was the one for Vancha and Kurda...) Yes well... moving on.

oOo

I took off my shoes and climbed up to one of the bars. Vanez and Kurda spent a few minutes teaching me how to maneuver back and forth. It was mostly just fancy footwork but balance was the key. I found it easier to balance without the staff, but with it, was like learning how to walk all over again. I took a practice swipe to my left and almost lost my balance.

_Right..._ I thought as I regained my balance. _I need to counter the weight when I swing._

"Short jabs!" Vanez snapped. "Broad swings will be the end of you."

_Never mind._

He grabbed a staff of his own and hopped up to balance in front of me. "Now what?" I asked.

He gave me a wicked grin. "Don't fall!" He jabbed his staff at me. I leapt back to avoid the attack. As he started toward me again, I jumped to the bar above me, and then to the one above that.

"You don't expect to win by running, do you?" Vanez laughed. He followed me as I continued climbing. Laughing the whole time. I turned and jumped a few bars down to where he was, and extended my staff in an attempt to hit him. He, in turn, only dodged. "You seem to be getting the hang of the bars." He noted.

"There was a park down the street from my house, that had a jungle gym in it." I explained. "I grew up playing on it."

"This ain't no jungle gym." He said and jabbed at me. He was aiming for the middle of my chest but I turned and he only hit my shoulder. It was enough to make me lose my balance and I fell from the bar. I was able to catch another bar with my leg as I fell, and hung upside-down.

"Let me try that again." I called up to him.

He sparred with me for a few more minutes, teaching me how to jump from one bar to another, to duck and dodge, and sometimes all three at once! After a while I had the hang of it, and appearantly Vanez thought I was ready.

We met in the middle, and knocked our staffs together. It was like a salute. Arra was smiling. It sent a shiver up my spine. She obviously didn't think I had a chance. I agreed. Vanez clapped his hands together to signal the start of the fight, and I jumped back a few steps.

It was the right thing for me to do, because as soon as my feet left the bar, the end of her staff struck right where I had been. She jabbed again and as I dodged, she swung her staff in a circle and brought it down. I barely managed to shield my head as the two staffs collided in a loud crack. The force of the blow was enough to put me on my knees, and almost made me drop my staff.

"Are you trying to kill her?" Kurda shouted angrily.

"The bars are no place for little girls who can't protect themselves." Arra sneered.

"I'm calling an end to this!" Kurda huffed.

"Don't you dare!" I warned him. He looked surprised. I turned back to Arra. "I'm ready."

Arra smiled. This time it wasn't a mocking smile. "The half-vampire has spirit. It's good to know that the young aren't entirely spineless." I would have smiled had she stopped there. "Now let's see what it takes to drive the spirit out of you."

"Then you'll be at this for a while!" I retorted as I dodged another blow. She continued to attack with short swipes. I tried to block, but she was faster, and I wound up taking a few unpleasant blows to my arms and legs. I retreated to the end of the bar we were on, and jumped away when she made a swing at my legs. She hadn't expected me to jump, it was written all over her face. I took her moment of surprise to strike, hitting her on her thigh. It didn't seem to hurt her much but it had caught her off guard.

"A point to Lily!" Kurda cheered.

"We don't score this on points." Arra snarled.

"Zip it, Kurda! She's going to get pissed!" I whined.

When she turned to face me again, there was no smile. Too late. She was pissed. _And now it gets serious._ I thought as I took a shaky breath. My small victory would be nothing compared to the can of whoop-ass she was about to open on me. I needed to focus.

_Don't get cocky, or you're dead._ I thought as I watched her. _Heh... cocky... NO! Focus!_

As she stepped toward me, I stepped back. This repeated a few more steps, before I jumped to another bar. She followed, so I jumped to another, and then another. I was looking to draw the contest out. Looking for an opening. She followed me, ignoring the jeers of the vampires that had gathered to watch the fight. I could see the calculating look in her eyes. She was looking for an opening too.

Before I realized what was happening, she had chased me into a corner. I was trapped now.

I had once thought about being trapped much like this. I figured that now, one of three scenarios could play out. 1: I would admit defeat. 2: I would fight and win. 3: I would fight and lose.

Now back when I had been thinking about being trapped in a corner, my enemy then had been a random bully. I had fantasized about beating him or her up and then all of my classmates would cheer for me. But even then I knew better. But back then I was human. After a few years of living with a vampire, defeat was something I just wouldn't admit. It was time to get my ass kicked.

I was able to get in a few blows, but I wasn't very strong compared to her and she took them without blinking. As I made to hit her again, she dodged, and brought her staff down on my back. I yelped and dropped to my stomach. My staff fell a long way before it clattered to the floor.

I could see Kurda far below. He made to rush to me but Vanez stopped him. "Leave her!" Vanez snapped. "She'll live. Don't disgrace her in front of all these vampires."

Kurda scowled but stayed put. Arra eased the end of her staff under my belly and tried to roll me off the bar. I let my body roll but held onto the bar. I swung all the way around and pushed myself away from the bar as I came back up, throwing all my weight into Arra. I heard her shriek, and for a moment felt a swell of victory. Then I felt my stomach churn as gravity grabbed me again. My hand shot out and I was able to grab the bar Arra had been standing on. I looked up to see Arra, on the same bar, hanging like I was. The worst part? She still had her staff. I was unarmed.

The vampires on the ground cheered as we pulled ourselves to our feet. She twirled the staff in her hands. "You can pick your staff up if you want." She smiled.

I glanced down below where my staff looked oh-so-lonely. "Am I allowed to leave the bars?" I asked.

"Nope." She smiled again. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Come on!" I grinned, spreading my arms. She jabbed, I dodged. She jabbed again, and I grabbed her staff. I was attempting to pull it out of her hands, but she yanked me toward her and punched me square in my jaw. I saw stars. She smashed her fist into my temple and I lost sense of direction for a second. She was drawing back for her third punch, I jumped back, missing her fist bymere centimeters.

"Let her have a staff, Arra!" Kurda said. "You can't expect her to defend herself with her bare hands. It's not fair!"

"How about it, _girl_?" She asked. "I'll let you call for a replacement staff if you wish."

I shook my head, tilting my head down to look up at her.

"Lily!" Kurda yelled. "Don't be stupid! Call it off if you don't want another staff."

"There would be no shame in quitting now," Vanez agreed.

"No." I said. "My mentor taught me better than that! I'm not coming down from these bars. So you're just going to have to knock me down!" I stared into Arra's eyes.

I poked my face where she'd punched me. A bruise was already forming. "Nothing like a punch to the face to make you feel alive." I started forward, both arms up to protect my head. Arra blinked, surprised. She raised her staff, smiling again. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like a genuine smile.

It didn't take long for her to beat me. It was no contest for her. It never was. I blocked her first jab with my hand and took her second right in the solar plexus. Dispite having the wind knocked out of me, I was dead set on getting beaten to a pulp. Her third jab I slapped away and fourth I dodged. Her fifth blow was my downfall. It landed on my throat. I couldn't breathe anymore. Her final strike connected with the side of my face and sent me spinning to the floor. The last thing I remembered was a fast, blurred cycle of ceiling, wall, floor, wall, ceiling, wall, floor, wall...blank.

oOo

...Ceiling... still ceiling. I felt like I was floating.

"Lily?" Kurda asked. I could hear the concern in his voice. "Are you all right?"

"Am I still... in one piece?" I asked.

"Y-yes." He replied.

"Then yes. What happened?" I asked

"She knocked you out."

"Who?"

"Arra." He said. "You've been unconscious for a few minutes. We were about to send for help."

I sat up, wincing at the pain. "Why?"

"Because you were unconscious." Kurda sighed, sounding annoyed.

Vanez helped me to my feet. As soon as he let go of my arm, I was floored again. Vanez laughed. "You'll be fine, a little concussion never killed a vampire."

"How much further to Vampire Mountain?" I asked weakly as I stood up again.

"Let's go!" Kurda snapped, and started leading me away.

"No wait!" I looked arounf for Arra Sails and spotted her sitting on one of the bars. Shaking out of Kurda's grasp, I stumbled over to her and stood in front of her, swaying a bit from the dizziness.

"Yes?" She asked.

I grinned like an idiot and stuck out my hand. "Shake."

Arra glanced at my hand, then stared into my eyes. I was having trouble focusing. "One good fight does not make you a warrior." She said.

"Shake!" I repeated.

"What will you do if I refuse?" She challanged.

I looked up to the bars. "Then we have a long night ahead of us." I looked back into her eyes.

She studied me for a moment. I thought she was going to accept my challange for round two, but instead she nodded, and took my hand. "Power to you, Lily Shan." She said.

"mmm... Power..." I slurred, before fainting again. I was out like a light till I came to in my hammock the next day... or night.

oOo

Two nights later, Mr. Crepsely and I were called before the Vampire Princes. I was still in pain from my fight, so Mr. Crepsley had to help me dress. When he saw the rest of the damage on my arms (which were black, blue and yellowish green) he began to scold me for my foolishness.

"I cannot believe you were foolish enough to chalange Arra Sails," He tutted. He was doing a gread job making me feel like a little kid again. Getting in trouble at school for something. He'd been teasing me about the fight since learning about it. Though he mocked me for it, I could see that he was also proud of me.

"Even _I_ would hesitate at going one-on-one with her."

"Really? I thought about asking for a rematch when my bruises were healed." I smirked. I was serious though.

"You should not be so reckless. You are only a half-vampire."

"It was my recklessness that made you want me in the first place." I reminded.

"Y-yes." He said. "But you could have been seriously injured."

"You sound like Kurda." I pouted.

"I do not agree with Kurda's views on the fighting ways of vampires- he is a pacifist- but he is correct when he says that sometimes it is better not to fight. When a situation is hopeless, and there is nothing at stake, only a fool battles on."

"But it wasn't hopeless!" I insisted. "I was really learning from her!"

Mr. Crepsley was smiling at me now. Or beaming maybe. "You are impossible at times. But so are must vampires. It is a sign that you _are_ learning. Now finish dressing. We must not keep the Princes waiting."

The Hall of Princes was at the highest internal point in the whole mountain. There was only one entrance to it, a long wide tunnel that was guarded by a host of Mountain Guards. This was the first time I had been up here. The only reason someone would be allowed here was if they had business with the Princes.

"Why all the security?" I asked as we walked, our bare feet making no noise on the dusty stone floor. "I thought the Princes were respected and obeyed by all vampires."

"They are," Mr. Crepsley replied. "This is for tradition's sake more than anything else."

At the end of the tunnel, the cave opened into a enormous cavern, with a strange, white dome in the center. It gleamed and seemed to pulse. It didn't have any joints or cracks, as if it formed in the shape it was in.

"What is it?" I asked, amazed.

"The Hall of Princes." Mr. Crepsley said.

"What is it made of?"

"Nobody knows." He shrugged. He grabbed my arm an led me over to it, placing my hand on the smooth surface.

"It's warm!" I gasped. It was like it was alive. "And it throbs. How can something like this come about?"

"Long ago, the Hall of Princes was like any other," Mr. Crepsley started. "Then, one night, Mr. Tiny arrived and said he had gifts for us. This shortly after the vampaneze had split from the vampires. The 'gifts' were the dome, which the Little People constructed, and the Stone of Blood. The dome and the Stone are magical artifacts."

He would have continued, but one of the guards called us over. "You may be admitted now." He said. He struck the door with his spear four times and the door slid open.

Although there were no torches burning inside, it was as bright as day. Lond seats, like pews, ran in circles around the dome. There was a large space in the center, where four wooden thrones were mounted on a platform. Three out of four were occupied by Princes. Crepsley had told me that at least one Prince always skipped Council, in case anything happened to the others. Nothing hung from the walls and there were no statues either.

Most of the seats were filled. Mr. Crepsley and I made our way over to the third row and slid in beside Kurda Smahlt, Gavner Purl, and Harkat Mulds, who were waiting for us. I was glad to see Harkat again, and asked him what he had been up to.

"Answering...questions," He replied. "Saying same thing...over and over...and over...again."

"Did any more of your memory come back?" I asked.

"No."

"Recovered from your bout with Arra yet?" Kurda asked.

Before I could reply though, Gavner chimed in. "I heard about that! Charna's guts! What were you thinking? I saw her make mincemeat of twenty seasoned vampires in one night."

"In hindsight I will admit it wasn't a very bright thing to do." I said with a grin.

Gavner had to leave to talk with the other Generals, so Mr. Crepsley told me more about the dome.

"The dome is magical. There is no way in except through the single set of doors. Nothing can penetrate the walls, no tool, no explosive, or acid. It is the toughest material known to man or vampire."

"Where did it come from?"

"We do not know. The Little People brought it in covered wagons. It took them months to haul it up, one sheet at a time. We were not allowed to watch as they assembled it. Our finest architects have been over it many times since, but not one can unravel its mysteries.

"The doors can only be opened by a Prince," He continued. "They can open them from the doors or from their thrones., by pressing their palms down on the armrests."

"And the Stone?" I asked.

"You see the red stone behind the Princes?" He pointed to where it was set on a pedestal fifteen feet behind the platform, an oval shaped stone, about twice the sixe of a football and bloodred in color. "That is the Stone of Blood. That is the key, not only to the dome, but to the longevity of the vampire race itself."

"How does the stone have anything to do with longevity?" I asked, staring at the Stone.

"The Stone serves several purposes. Every vampire, whne accepted into the fold, must stand before the Stone and place their hands on it. Though it looks smooth as glass, the Stone is sharp to the touch. It will draw blood, which is absorbed into the Stone, linking the vampire to the mental collective of the clan forever."

"Mental collective?" I repeated.

"I have told you of how vampires can mentally search for those they have bonded with?"

"Yes."

"Using the method of triangulation, we can also search for and find those we have _not_ bonded with, via the Stone."

"Even if they don't want to be found?"

"Yes, but pinpointing their location would be no good. With triangulation, three people are involved. If I wanted to find you, I could contact someone I was bonded with- like Gavner- and mentally transmit your whereabouts to him."

"Can anyone use the Stone to find a vampire?" I asked.

"Anyone with the ability to search mentally." he said.

"Even a human or a vampaneze?"

"Very few huimans have the minds advanced enough to use the Stone, but the vampaneze can." he answered.

"Then isn't the Stone dangerous?" I asked. "If a vampaneze got his hands on the Stone, he could track down every vampire he knew the name of."

Mr. Crepsley smiled grimly. "I see your battering with Arra Sails has not affected your powers of reasoning. You are correct though. The vampaneze would be able to hunt all of us down. That is why we guard the Stone carefully, and never let it leave the safety of the dome."

"Then why not get rid of it?" I asked.

Kurda, who'd been listening, laughed. "I put that proposal to the Princes decades ago." He said. "The Stone could resist normal tools and explosives, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to get rid of safely. They wouldn't hear of such a thing."

"Why not?" I asked.

"There are a number of reasons." Mr. Crepsley interjected. "First, the Stone can be used to locate vampires who are missing or are in trouble, or those who are mad and on the loose. It is healthy to know that we are joined to the clan by more than tradition.

"Second, the Stone of Blood is necessary to operate the doors of the dome. When a vampire becomes a Prince, the Stone is a vital part of the ceremony.

"The third reason we do not destroy the Stone, is because of the Lord of the Vampaneze." His face was dark now. "The myth says that the Vampaneze Lord will wipe the vampire race from the face of the Earth when he comes to power, but through the Stone of Blood we might one night rise again."

"How is that possible?" I asked.

"We do not know." Mr. Creplsey said. "But those are the words of Mr. Tiny, and since the power of the Stone is also his, it makes sense to pay heed. We need to protect the Stone, now more than ever. With the Stone, there is hope. To dispose of it now would be to surrender to fear."

"Charna's guts!" Kurda snorted. "I've no time for those old myths. We should get rid of the stone, shut down the dome, and build a new Hall of Princes. It's one of the main reasons the vampaneze are loath to make a deal with us. They don't want to be hooked up to a magical tool of Mr. Tiny's, and who can blame them? They're afraid of bonding with the Stone. If we removed the Stone, they might return to us, and there'd be one big family of vampires- and the threat of the Vampaneze Lord would evaporate."

"Does that mean you will be seeking to destroy the Stone when you are a Prince?" Mr. Crepsley inquired.

"I'll mention the possibility." Kurda nodded.

"Did you make this clear when you were seeking election?" Mr. Crepsley asked.

I hid my grin when Kurda shifted uncomfortably. "Well, no, but that's politics. Sometimes you have to hold things pack. I didn't lie about it. If anyone had asked me for my views on the Stone, I'd have told them. They just... didn't ask." He finished.

"_Politics_!" Mr. Crepsley huffed. "It is a sad day for vampires when our Princes voluntarily ensnare themselves in the despicable webs of politics." He turned his back on Kurda and stared straight ahead at the platform.

"I've upset him." Kurda whispered to me.

"I do it all the time." I said with a grin.

We would have continued talking, but at that moment, a serious-looking General banged the floor of the platform with a heavy staff and announced my name, followed by Mr. Crepsley's.

Time to meet the Princes.

_A.N.: So, not much has been up with me. I got another mouse so my first one would not be lonely. The new one is half the size of the older one. Wheeeeeeee~! Okay, for serious._


	23. Chapter 23 The Trials and the Prince

**Disclaimer: Refer to previous chapters.**

Due to popular demand, I will be starting the shipping of the characters. Make your fangirl squee's to yourself, and enjoy.

oOo

There were three Princes in the Hall. They were Paris Skyle, Mika Ver Leth and Arrow. The absent Prince was Vancha March. All three Princes were burly, muscular men. Even the ancient Paris Skyle looked as though he could toss an ox over his shoulder with one arm.

"Greetings, Larten." Paris said to Mr. Crepsely. "It is good to see you in the Hall of Princes. I did not think I would look upon your face again."

"I vowed I would be back." Mr. Crepsley replied, bowing to the Prince.

"I never doubted it." Paris smiled warmly. "I just did not think I would be alive to welcome you. I have grown long of tooth, old friend. My nights are numbered."

"You will outlive us all, Paris." Mr. Crepsely said.

"We shall see." Paris said with a sigh. He turned his gaze to me while Mr. Crepsely bowed to the other Princes. I smiled and shifted nervously under his gaze. Trying to be polite.

"This must be your assistant, Lily Shan. Gavner Purl has spoken approvingly of her." The Prince said once Crepsley returned to my side.

"She is of good blood and strong heart," Mr. Crepsely said. "A fine assistant, who will one night make a first-rate vampire."

My heart skipped a beat and I gave Mr. Crepsely a shocked look. He smiled. I had no other choice but to smile back.

"_One night_ indeed!" Mika Ver Leth snorted. He glared at me. "She's just a _girl_! This is no time for children to be admitted to our ranks." I didn't know if he was trying to get a rise out of me or not, but only gave him a slight nod. He had been a vampire since before my parents were born. He'd probably seen his share of "first-rate" vampires, so if he didn't think I was one... I would prove him wrong.

"Please, Mika." Paris interrupted. "Let us not speak rashly. All here know the character of Larten Crepsely. We must treat him with the respect he has earned. I do not know why he chose to blood a child, but I am certain he can explain."

"I just think it's crazy, in this night and age." Mika Ver Leth grumbled his way to silence. Paris turned to me and smiled again. I was concerned with this repeated action. Scratched my head nervously. I was also interested in what Mr. Crepsley's reason for blooding me, was.

"You must forgive us, Lily, if we seem discourteous. We are unused to children. It has been a long time since any were presented before us."

"I'm not really a child." I said. My heart making my voice waiver. Needed to calm down. "I was almost eighteen when I was blooded. By now I should be... close to twenty. It's not my fault my body hasn't aged."

"Precisely!" Mika Ver Leth snapped. "It's the fault of the vampire who blooded you. He-"

"Mika!" Paris snapped. "this vampire of noble standing and his assistant have come before us in good faith, to seek our approval. Whether we grant it or not, they deserve to be heard politely, not challanged rudely in front of their colleagues."

Mika collected himself, stood, and bowed to us. "Sorry," He said through gritted teeth. "I spoke out of term. I will not do it again." I calmed down. Wasn't as afraid of him anymore.

A murmur spread through the Hall. From the whispers, i gathered that it was most unusual for a Prince to apologize to an inferior, especially one who was no longer a General. I sighed.

Mika sat back down, but continued to glare. Specifically, at me. I glared back and bit the inside of my lip so I wouldn't say something I'd regret. His eyes narrowed further.

"Come, Larten." Paris said, as chairs were brought forward for us. "Sit and tell us what you have been up to since last we met."

Once we were seated, Mr. Crepsley ran through his story. He told the Princes of his association with the Cirque Du Freak, the places he'd been, the people he'd met. When he came to the part about Murlough, he asked to speak to the Princes in private. He told them in whispers of the mad vampaneze, and how we'd killed him. They were disturbed by the news.

"This is worrisome," Paris mused aloud. "If the vampaneze find out, they could use it as an excuse to start a war!"

"How could they?" Mr. Crepsley responded. "I am no longer part of the clan."

"If they were suitably enraged, they could over look that," Mika Ver Leth said. "If the rumor of the Vampaneze Lord if true, we must tread carefully where our blood cousins are concerned."

"Still," Arrow said, contributing to the conversation for the first time. "I don't think Larten erred. It would be different if he were a General, but as a free agent, he is not bound by our laws. Were I in his position, I'd have done the same thing. He acted discreetly. I don't think we can fault him for that."

"No," Mika agreed. Glancing at me, he added, "Not for _that_."

I glared again. Tried to hide my anger, but my face was turning red.

With the matter of Murlough out of the way, we returned to our chairs and raised our voices so that everyone in the Hall could hear.

"Now." Paris said gravely. "It is time we returned to the business of your assistant. We all know that the world has changed vastly these last few centuries. Humans are more protective of one another and their laws are stricter than ever, particularly with regard to their young. That is why we no longer blood children. Even in the past, we blooded few of them. It has been ninety years since we last added a child to our ranks. Tell us, Larten, why you decided to break with recent tradition."

Mr. Crepsley cleared his throat and locked eyes with the Princes, one after another. Mika's locked with mine. "I have no valid reason," He said calmly, and the Hall erupted into barely contained shouts and muffled, hurried conversations. I erupted into barely contained fits of laughter. I don't know why it was funny.

"There will be quiet in the Hall!" Paris shouted, and the noise ceased at once. Mine included. He looked troubled when he faced us. I wore an inappropriate, yet happy smile. I bit my lower lip to try and hide it. "Come, Larten, do not play games. You would not blood a girl out of simple whimsy. There must be a reason. Did you kill his parents, perhaps, and decide it was your place to take care of him?"

I watched Mika. He was anxiously waiting for the answer.

"Her parents are alive." Mr. Crepsley said.

"Both of them?" Mika snapped.

"Yes."

"Then they are looking for her?" Paris asked.

"No. We faked her death. They buried her. They think she is dead."

"That much at least you did right." Paris murmured. "But why blood her in the first place?" When Mr. Crepsley didn't answer, Paris turned to me and asked, "Do _you_ know why he blooded you?"

I was going to lie. I glanced at Mr. Crepsley, but he shook his head and said, "No, tell them the truth."

I nodded. I told them about how I had gone to see the Cirque Du Freak with my best friend. How we'd seen him preform, and how Stephanie recognized him as a vampire. How I had heard. How and why I stole his spider, and how she had bit Stephanie.

"He offered to make me into a vampire, and I accpeted. So he blooded me and gave the antidote to my friend." I said.

"Her friend wanted me to blood her as well, a girl her own age." Mr. Crepsley added.

The Hall erupted into controversy, and took the barking Princes seversl minutes to quiet the vampires. I glanced at Mr. Crepsley and he gave me a reassuring smile.

Paris resumed questioning, more troubled than ever. "You tried to blood _another_ girl?"

Mr. Crepsley nodded. "But her blood was tainted with evil- she would not have made a good vampire."

"Let me get this straight." Mika said angrily. "You tried blooding one girl, but couldn't; her friend found out, so you blooded her instead?"

"That it about the sum of it," Mr. Crepsley agreed. "I also blooded her in a rush, without revealing the full truth of our ways, which was unpardonable. In my defense I will add that I studied her a great length before blooding her, and was convinved of his honesty and strength of character when I did."

"What drew you to the first girl- the one with evil blood?" Paris asked.

"She knew how I was. She had seen a portrait of me in an old book, drawn long ago when I was using the name of Vur Horston. She asked to become my assistant."

"Didn't you explain our ways to her?" Mika asked. "Didn't you tell her we don't blood children?"

"I tried, but..." Mr. Crepsley shook his head. "It was as though I had no control over myself. I knew it was wrong, but I would have blooded her regardless, if not for her foul blood. I cannot explain why, because I do not understand it."

"You'll have to come up with a better argument than that." Mika warned.

"I cannot," Mr. Crepsely said. "Because I have none."

"There was a polite cough from behind us and Gavner Purl stepped foreward. "May I intervene on my friend's behalf?" He asked.

"By all means." Paris said. "We welcome your input, if it can clear things up."

"I don't know if it can do that," Gavner said, "but I'd like to note that Lily is an extraordinary girl. She made the trek to Vampire Mountain- no small feat for one her age- and fought a bear poisoned with vampaneze blood along the way. I'm sure you have heard of her contest with Arra Sails a few nights ago."

"We have." Paris chuckled.

"This is all beside the point!" Mika Ver Leth snapped. "This girl could be the next Khledon Lurt and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. Vampires no longer blood childred."

"But, I was the same age as Mr. Crepsley was when he was blooded." I said.

"This is true." Mr. Crepsley nodded. "Though I do not ask for forgivness, merly consideration. And I ask that no reprisals be taken against Lily. The fault is mine, and I alone should be punished."

"I don't know about _punishment_," Mika said uncomfortably. "I'm not out to make an example of you. Dragging your good name through the muck is the last thing on my mind."

I was a bit shocked. One second he's giving me the stink eye...

"None of us wish to do that," Arrow agreed. "But what option have we? He did blood a child. But he too was blooded at her age."

"I ask for no mercy." Mr. Crepsley said stiffly. "I am not a young vampire who acted out of ignorance. I expect no special treatment. If you decide I am to be executed, I will accept your verdict without complaint. If-"

"No!" I gasped. "They can't kill you because of _me_!"

"If you decide I must be tested," He continued. "I will rise to any challange you care to set, and die meeting it if I must."

"There will be no challange," Paris huffed. "We reserve challanges for those who have not proven themselves inbattle. I will say again- your good standing in not in question."

"Perhaps..." Mika said hesitantly. A few seconds later he continued. "I think I have it." He pointed his finger at me grinning. "Let's set a challange for the girl!"

oOo

There was a long silence. "Yes." Paris agreed. "A challange for the girl."

"I said I did not want to bring Lily into this!" Mr. Crepsley tensed.

"No." Mika contradicted. "You said you didn't want her to be _punished_. Well, she won't be- a challange is not a punishment." He smirked at me. I shook my head disapprovingly at him, and his smirk quickly vanished.

"It is fair, Larten," Paris agreed. "If the girl proves herself in a test, your decision to blood him will be accpted and no more will be said about it."

"And the dishonor will be _hers_ if she fails." Mika added.

Mr. Crepsley scratched his scar, like I'd seen him do countless times while in thought. "It is an honest solution," he mused, "but the decision is Lily's, not mine. I will not force a challange on her." He turned to me. "Are you prepared to prove yourself to the clan and clear our names?"

I shifted uneasily. "Um... what sort of a challange are we talking about?" I asked steadily.

"A good question." Paris said. "It would be unfair to pit her in battle against one of our warriors- a half-vampire is no match for a General."

"And a quest would take too long." Arrow muttered.

"That leaves the Trials." Mika said.

"No!" Someone shouted behind us. Looking around, I spotted Kurda striding toward the platform. "I won't stand for this!" he shouted. "The girl isn't ready for the Trials. If you insist on testing her, let her wait til she is older."

"There will be no waiting," Mika growled, rising to his feet and taking a few steps toward Kurda. I got the feeling that whatever the Trials were, he had planned on my taking them, since the begining. "_We_ weild the authority here, Kurda Shahlt- you're not a Prince yet, so don't act like one."

"Kurda stopped, glowered at Mika, then dropped to one knee and bowed his head."My apologies for speaking out of turn, sire."

"Apology accepted," Mika grunted, returning to his seat.

"Have I the permission of the Princes to speak?" Kurda asked,

Paris glanced at Mika, who shrugged curtly. "You have." He said.

"The Trials of Initiation are for experienced vampires," Kurda said. "They were not designed to children. It wouldn't be fair to subject her to them."

"Life for vampires has never been _fair_." Mr. Crepsley said. "But it can be _just_. I do not enjoy the thought of submitting Lily to the Trials, but it is a just decision and I shall stand by her if she agreed."

"Excuse me," I interrupted, "but what _are_ the Trials?"

PAris smiled kindly at me. "The Trials of Initiation are tests for vampires who wish to become Generals." He explained.

"What would I have to do?"

"Normally, preform five acts of physical courage," He said. "The tests are picked at random and are different for each vampire. The risk is great, and though most vampires survive, death by misadventure is not undeard-of."

"You said, 'normally'," I noted. "What are the other cases?"

"There have not been any, yet." He smiled. "But I was thinking we might be able to make an exception in this case. Two Trials, instead of five."

"Even still, you mustn't agree to this, Lily." Kurda hissed. "The Trials are for full vampires. You aren't strong, quick or experienced enough. You'll be signing you're death warrent if you say yes."

"I disagree," Mr. Crepsely said. "Lily _is_ capable of passing the Trials. All five. It would not be easy, and he may struggle, but I would not let her step forward if I thought she would be completely out og her depth. She learns quickly."

"All five?" I asked aloud.

"If you wish," Paris said.

"No!" Kurda growled. I turned to look at him. "Okay, at least three?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would you be more lenient of I only added one more?" I was sort of begging.

He looked as if her were about to object, but stopped. He was faltering. I gave him a hopeful grin and raised one eyebrow. That must have done it for him.

"Let's vote on it," Mika said. "I say the Trials. Arrow?"

"I agree- the Trials."

"Paris."

The oldest living vampire shook his head uncertainly. "Kurda has a point when he says the Trials are not for children. I trust your judgement, Larten, but fear your optimism is misplaced."

"Can you suggest another way?" Mika snapped. He seemed pretty intent on my going through the Trials.

"No, but..." Paris sighed. "What do the Generals think?" He addressed tha Hall. "Does anyone have anything to add?"

The Generals muttered to themselves. At first, I thought nobody would say anything, until a familiar figure stood and cleared her throat. "I respect Lily Shan," said Arra Sails. "I have shaken her hand, and those who know me know how much that means to me. I believe Gavner Purl and Larten Crepsley when they say she will be a valuable addition to our ranks.

"But I also agree with Mika Ver Leth- Lily must prove herself. All of us had to endure the Trials. They help make us what we are. As a woman, the odds were stacked against me, as they will be against her. But I overcame them and took me place in this Hall as an equal. There must be no exceptions. A vampire who cannot pull his own weight is of no use to us, We have no place for children who need to be wet-nursed and tucked into their coffins at daybreak.

"Having said that," She concluded, "I don't think Lily will let us down. I believe she will pass the Trials and prove herself. I have every confidence in her." She smiled at me, and glared at Kurda. "And those who say otherwise- those who'd wrap her in blankets- should not be heeded. To deny Lily the right of the Trials would be to shame her."

"Noble words," Kurda sneered. "Will you repeat them at her funeral?"

"Better to die with pride than live with shame," Arra retorted.

Kurda cursed to himself, and turned to me. "How about it, Lily?" He asked. "Will you face death just to prove yourself to these fools?"

"No." I said. He didn't look over, but I saw a pained look cross Crepsely's face. "But I'll face death to prove myself to me." The look was quickly replaced by a smirk in my direction.

While Paris asked the Hall, which ones thought I should undertake the Trials, I looked up at Crepsely and made a sign for him to bend down. I whispered. "What would happen if I said 'no'?"

"You would be disgraced and sent from Vampire Mountain in shame," He said.

"Would you be shamed too?" I asked.

He sighed. "Only in my own eyes. Having chosen adn blooded you, I feel any shame of yours would also be mine."

I swallowed. "You couldn't bear that shame, could you?"

His expression softened. "No." He said quietly.

"You'd go and hunt down you own death, wouldn't you?" I asked.

"Something along those lines." He agreed.

Six years ago, when we were hunting Murlough, the mad vampaneze had kidnapped Evra, and Mr. Crepsley offered to trade his life for my friend. He would have done the same for me if I'd fallen into the killer's hands. I felt I owed this to him.

I stood up straight and turned to the Princes. "I agree to take the Trials."

oOo

I left the Hall with Gavner, Harkat, and Kurda. Mr. Crepsley said he was going to stay behind to explain something in private with the Princes.

I glanced at Gavner worriedly. "How hard are the Trials? Seriously."

"Very." He sighed.

"Try tough as the walls of the Hall of Princes!" Kurda growled.

"They're not _that_ difficult," Gavner said. "Don't exaggerate the dangers, Kurda- you'll frighten her."

"That's the last thing I want to do." Kurda smiled at me. "But the Trials are meant for fully grown vampires. I spent six years preparing for them, like most vampires do, yet I only barely scraped through."

"Lily will be okay," Gavner insisted, but I heard the doubt in his voice.

"Besides," I said hopefully. "I'm only taking three of the Trials."

"Being blooded at the same age as Larten gave you some slack." Gavner pointed out.

I snorted at that. Gavner gave me a questioning look. "What?"

"I can't imagine my mentor at my age. Did he have to go through the Trials?"

"Only when he was trying ot become a General." Kurda said.

"Will I be able to become a General?" I asked. Suddenly full of questions.

"No." Kurda sighed. "The Trials are the first test.

"How do the Trials go, when I take them?" I asked.

"A day's rest is all you're allowed in between. So you have to be especially careful at the start- if you get injured early one, you wont have much time to recover."

"Actually, she might get lucky there," Gavner mused.

"Of course!" Kurda agreed. "The Festival of the Undead is almost upon us."

"What's that?" I asked.

"We celebrate with a huge feast when every vampire who's coming to Council has arrived," Kurda explained. "We use the Stone of Blood to search for latecomers a couple of nights ago, and only three more are on their way. When the last arrives, the Festival starts, and no official business may take place for three nights and days."

"If the Festival starts during your Trials, you'll have a three night break. That would be a great bonus."

"If the latecomers come in time." Kurda added.

"Why are you su sure I'll fail?" I asked. He was being so negative and doubtful about it.

"It's not that I think too poorly of you," Kurda said. "You're just too young and inexperienced. Apart from the face that you're physically unprepared, you haven't had time to assess the different tasks and practice for them. You're being thrown in the deep end, and it isn't fair."

"Still whining about fairness?" someone commented behind us- . Seba Nile was catching up behind him.

"You were very quick to agree to the Trials," Kurda said disapprovingly.

"I was able to present a solution to one of the problems." Seba explained. "The Period of Preparation- usually those who had undertaken the Trials before- but there was no dishonor in taking advantage of it."

"I never heard of that rule." Gavner said.

"I ded," Kurda noted. "but I'd never have thought of it. Does it apply? It hasn't been used in more than a thousand years."

"The Perios of Preparation was never formally abolished. Given that Lily is a special case, I went to the Princes and asked that he be allowed to take advantage of it. Mika objected, of course- that vampire was born to object- but Paris talked him into it."

I wanted to ask what Prince Mika Ver Leth had against me, but I figured I probably shouldn't take it personally.

"That is good news," Gavner agreed, brightening up.

"There is more," Mr. Crepsely said. "We also presuaded the Pricnes to rule out some of the more difficult Trials, those which are clearly beyond Lily's ability."

"I thought you said you weren't going to ask for favors," Gavner noted with a grin.

"And I did not." Mr. Crepsely replied. "I merely asked that the Princes use their common sense. It would be illogical to ask a blind man to paint, or a mute man to sing. So it would be senseless to expect a half-vampire to flit, or compete on even terms with a full-vampire. Many of the Trials remain, but those which are clearly impossible for on in Lily's position have been eliminated."

"I still say it's unfair," Kurda complained. He faced the Ancient Seba Nile. "Are there any other old laws we could use? Preferably about children not being killed if they fail."

"None that I am aware of," Seba said. "The only vampires who cannot be killed for failing the Trials of Initation are the Princes. It is forbidden to kill a Prince, so if a Prince fails and he does not die furing the Trial, nobody can execute him."

We had reached our rooms now.

"Come," Mr. Crepsley said. "I am tired. It is time to turn in for the day."

"I don't think I'll be able to." I sighed.

"You must." He grunted and placed a hand on my shoulder, guiding me to my room in case I tried to leave. "Rest is vital if you are going to complete the Trials. You will need to be fully alert, with all your wits about you."

Back in my cell, I made myself as comfortable as possible in my hammok, while Harkat climbed into his.

"Lily." Mr. Creplsey called. I sat up to see him in the doorway. "I believe you can do this."

"I know." I nodded.

"So please do not prove me wrong." He added. Then turned and left.

I was confused, and to be honest a little amused. I turned over and fell asleep.

_A.N.: Send me your reviews! I feed off those, you know? It make me want to write better, and so I get my write-better-bowl and eat my cereal. Omnomnomnom *cough* nvm... e_e_


	24. Chapter 24 Training

**Disclaimer: Refer to previous chapters.**

Look guys, I know I should check for speling erors, accidental he's instead of she's and oocness, but 1) don't care enough to get a beta, 2) same reason, and 3) This is where I decided to start making the AU.

Sorry for those of you who feel like your fur's getting rubbed the wrong way by my mistakes. Hee hee... fur.

So yeah, unless someone wants to beta... speling erors wil ocur offin. xP

oOo

Arra Sails was waiting for Mr. Crepsely and I outside the Hall of Princes. Arra was one of the rare female vampires at Vampire Mountain.

"How are you?" She asked, shaking my hand.

"Pretty good." I smiled.

"Nervous?"

"Of course."

"I was too, when facing my Trials," She said with a smile. "Only a fool goes into them without feeling anxious. The important thing is not to panic."

"I'll be fine." I promised.

"I hope you don't hold what I said in the Hall of Princes against me. I don't believe in going easy on vampires, even if they are half-vampires. Ours is a hard life, not suited to the weak. As I said in the Hall, I think you'll pass the Trials, but if you don't, I won't step in to plead for your life."

I stopped suddenly when her words processed. _My... life?_

Arra's expression caused me to make a split second decision. "I understand." I said.

"We're still friends?"

"Of course." I said.

"If you need help preparing, call on me," she said. "I have been through the Trials three times, to prove myself more than anyone else that I am a worthy vampire. There is very little that I don't know about them."

"We will bear that in mind," Mr. Crepsley said, bowing to her.

"Couteous as ever, Larten," Arra noted. "And as handsome too."

I nearly laughed. But Mr. Crepsely took the compliment in stride, as though he were used to such flattery, and bowed again. "And you, as beautiful as ever." He said.

"I know." She grinned and left. Mr. Crepsley watched her intently as she walked away, a look in his face, that I hadn't seen in a while. He caught me smirking, and scowled.

"What are you grinning about?" He glared with a smirk.

"Nothing." I said, keeping my face solemn. "an old girlfriend?"

"If you must know," He said stiffly, "Arra was once my mate."

I blinked. "Like, a wife?"

"In a manner of speaking."

I stared at the vampire. "You never told me you were married."

"I'm not- anymore- but I used to be."

"Divorce?"

He shook his head. "Vampires neither marry nor divorce as humans do. We make temporary mating commitments instead."

"How?"

"If two vampires wish to mate," he explained, "they agree to share their lives for a set amount of time, usually five or ten years. At the end of that time, they can agree to another five or ten years, or seperate. Our relationships are not like those of humans. Since we cannot have children, and live such a long time, very few vampires stay mated for their whole lives."

I thought about it for a minute. "Do you still have feelings for Arra?"

"I admire and respect her." he answered.

"I mean, do you love her?"

"Come," he said, not bothering to answer the question. "it is time to present ourselves to the Princes. Hurry- we must not be late."

oOo

Vanez Blane greeted us inside the Hall of Princes. "How do you feel?" He asked. "Ready for the Trials?"

_I hope everyone isn't going to ask me this._ "Just about."

He took me aside and spoke quietly. "You can say no if you want, but I've discussed it with the Princes, and they won't object if you ask me to be your Trials tutor. That means I'd tell you about the challanges and help you prepare for them."

"Sounds good to me." I said.

"You don't mind, Larten?" he asked Mr. Crepsely.

"Not at all," Mr. Crepsley said. "I had planned to be Lily's tutor, but you are much better suited to the job. Are you sure it is not an inconvenience?"

"Of course it isn't," Vanez said firmly.

"The it is agreed."

"It feels strange being the center of so much attention," I said. "So many people are going out of their way to help me. Are you like this with all newcomers?"

"Most of the time- yes," Vanez said. "Vampires look out for each other. we have to- everybody else in the world either hates us or fears us. A vampire can always depend on help from his own." He winked.

A gusrd called my name, and I stepped forward to the platform where the thrones of the Princes were. Vanez stood behind me while Crepsley stayed in his seat.

Paris Skyle asked if I was willing to accept whatever Trial came my way. I told him I was.

A bag ov numbered stones was brought forward by a green-uniformed guard. I'd been told there were seventeen stones in it. The stones were examined by a General and approved, then the guard shook the bag. He then held the bag out to me. I closed my eyes, reached my hand into the bag, and grabbed a random stone. I showed it to the guard.

"Number eleven," he shouted. "The Aquatic Maze." The vampires in the Hall began murmuring to themselves.

"Is that good or bad?" I asked Vanez while the stone was taken up to the Princes to verify.

"It depends," He said. "Can you swim?"

"Yes."

"Then it's as good a first Trial as any. Things could have been worse."

Once the stone had been approved and put aside, Paris told me that I would be expected to report for the Trial at duck tomorrow. He wished me luck- business would keep him away but one of the Princes would be present.- then dismissed me. I hurried off with Vanez and Mr. Crepsley to prepare for my first test.

oOo

The Aquatic Maze was man-made, built with a low ceiling and watertight walls. There were four doors in and out of it. From the center where I would be left, it usually took five or six minutes to find your way out, if you didn't get lost. But, in the Trial, you had to drag a heavy rock- half your weight- which slowed you down. Lucky for me, my blood slowed my aging, so I was still small.

In addition to the rock, there was the obvious to deal with. Water. As soon as the Trial began, the maze started to fill with water. It slowed you down even more, finding your way through the maze took about fifteen minutes. If it took you longer, you had two minutes of air to find the door, before the air would run out.

"It's important not to panic," Vanez said. We were in a practice maze. The walls of the Aquatic Maze could be taken out and changed so the maze was different each time. "It can be frightening when the water rises and the going gets slower and tougher. You have to fight the fear and concentrate on the route. If you let the water distract you, you'll lose your way- and then you're finished."

Vanez used the early part of the night to teach me how to make a map inside my head. I thought I had been getting the hang of it, but soon I had too much to remember, and it became confusing.

"You're not concentrating!" Vanez snapped. when I came to a complete stop for the seventh or eight time.

"I'm trying, but it's hard to remember everything I've already seen." I sighed.

"Trying isn't hard enough!" He barked. "You have to tune out all other thoughts. For get the Trials, and the water, and what will happen if you fail. Think only aobut the maze."

It wasn't easy, but I took a moment to calm down, clear my mind, and think about the maze. Within an hour, I had improven considerably. It was boring, but I learned to appreciate it. In the Aquatic Maze, excitement could confuse and kill me.

Once I could make maps in my head pretty well, Vanez wrapped a rope around my waist and attacked a rock to the other end. "This rock is only a quarter of your weight," he said. "We'll let you try a heavier rock later, but we don't want to tire you out too much before the Trial. We'll build you up to half your weight."

It wasn't too heavy, but it was an annoyance! It slowed me down and got caught on corners. "It's important to stop once you feel it snagging," Vanez said. "Your natural instincts will be to tug on the rope to free it quickly, but more often than not, worsens the situation, and you wind up taking even longer to fix it."

oOo

Later we stopped for a meal and met up with Crepsley and Harkat in the Hall of Khledon Lurt. I had worked up a serious hunger.

"How is she doing?" Crepsely asked. He'd wanted to watch me train, but Vanez said he'd be in the way.

"Remarkably well," Vanez said, chewing on the bones of a skewered rat. "To be honest, I thought she'd be- excuse the pun- out of her depth. But she's a quick learner. We still have a lot to fit in, but I'm a lot more hopeful now than I was a few hours ago."

Harkat had brought Madame Octa into the Hall and was feeding her bread crumbs soaked in bat broth. He'd agreed to take care of her while I had to take care of the Trials. "Managing her alright?" I asked between a bite.

"Yes. She is... easy to... take care of." His speech was improving, but he still had to take breaths in the middle of his sentences. "Do you think... you will be... ready for... the Trial?"

"Let me put it to you this way." I said. "The Trial is the last thing on my mind. Right now, I could slip under the table and sleep for a week."

"I have been... listening to... vampires talk," Harkat said. "Many are... betting on you."

"Really?" I said, sitting up straight. "What does everyone think of my chances?"

"Most vampires... are betting... _against_ you." This didn't surprise me.

"Well then... I guess I'll just have to prove them wrong then, huh?" I smiled before shoveling more food into my mouth.

"Kurda and Gavner... and Arra... are accepting most... of the bets. They believe... in you."

"That's good to hear." Bite. "At least someone," Bite. "doesn't think I'm," Bite. "completely helpless!" I stopped eating to ask: "What about Mr. Crepsley?"

Harkat shook his head. "He said... he does not... bet. Especially not... on children."

I nodded. I had expected as much. Though I was a little disappointed.

"But I... heard him talking... to Seba Nile," Harkat added. "He said... that if you... failed, he would... eat his cape."

I laughed, almost choking on bat broth. With this news, or the food, maybe a combination of both, I suddenly felt recharged and ready to go.

Mr. Crepsley glanced sideways at me. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing you should worry about!" I grinned and gulped down the rest of my broth.

When we finished eating, Vanez and I returned to the maze where the weight of my rock was increased, and the level of the water raised. He continued working me so hard, that by the time he called it a night, I was so exhausted that he had to call Mr. Crepsely to come help me to my cell.

oOo

I felt like a concrete statue when I woke up the next morning. After a few minutes of walking, though, I had worked nearly all the stiffness out of my limbs. Vanez has pushed me exactly the right amount. I was definitely having a good day. So far anyway.

Even though I was hungry, Vanez told me to eat as light as possible. I would need energy, but if things were tight, a few pounds could mean the difference between life and death. So I only ate a small loaf of bread, about the size of my fist.

Mr. Crepsley and Vanez came for me when it was time. Both were wearing their best clothes, Mr. Crepsley dazzling in bright red robes. For a second, I was reminded of the first time I ever saw him. On stage at the Cirque Du Freak.

"Ready?" Vanez asked. I nodded. "Hungry?"

"Considering how little I ate? I'm starving!"

"Good!" He smiled. "I'll treat you the the best meal of your life after the Trial."

We wound our way through the tunnels to the Aquatic Maze, Vanez walking in front of me, Mr. Crepsley beside me, Harkat, just behind. Vanez carrying a purple flag, the sign that he was escorting a vampire to the Trials.

Most of the vampires we passed made a gesture when the saw me coming: they put the tip of their right-hand middle finger to their forehead, placed the tips of the fingers on either side to their eyelids, and spread their thumbs and little finger out wide to the sides.

"Why are they doing that?" I asked Mr. Crepsley.

"It is a customary gesture," He explained. "We call it the death's touch sign."

"It mean's,'Even in death, may you be triumphant.'" Vanez said.

"Why not just wish me luck?" I asked.

"That doesn't have quite the same significance," Vanez replied. "We believe that the gods of the vampires respect those who die nobly. They bless us when a vampire meets death proudly and curse us when one dies poorly."

"So... they want me to die well for their own sakes. That's comforting." I added sarcastically.

"For the sake of the clan." Vanez corrected. "A vampire in good standing always puts the good of the clan before his own well-being. Even in death. The gesture is to remind you of that."

I had never been one to question another's beliefs, but the more I learned about vampires and their ways, the more interested I became.

The Aquatic Maze was built in the pit of a large cavern. Forty or fifty vampires were lined up around the walls of the maze. That was all the cave could hold. Amung them were Gavner and Kurda, Seba Nile and Arra Sails... and Mika Ver Leth. The whole reason I was taking the Trials.

He summoned us over, nodded to Vanez and Mr. Crepsely, and fixed his icy gaze on me. He was dressed in his customary black outfit. "You have prepared for the Trial?" he asked.

"Yes sir."

"You know what lies ahead of you?"

I have a general idea that I'm going to base all my decisions on. "I do."

"Except fot the four exits, there is no escape from the maze," he said. "Should you fail this Trial, you will not have to face the Hall of Death."

"Well that's... uhh... comforting." I repeated my earlier statement. To my surprise, I thought I saw the corners of his mouth tugging upwards.

"You don't need to worry- it is still water, not running."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Still water cannot trap a vampire's soul." He explained.

"Oh, that!" I laughed a bit. Many vampires believed that if you died in a river or stream, your soul remained trapped forever by the flowing water. "That doesn't bother me. It's the drowning I'm trying to avoid."

"Either way, I wish you luck." Mika said.

"Nah... you don't." I grinned.

"Lily!" Mr. Crepsely snapped.

"It's all right." Mika silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let the girl speak her mind." He turned to me. I think he was daring me to continue, because that's exactly what I did.

"It was your idea for me to take the Trials," I said. "You don't think I'm good enough to be a vampire. And I could be taking it too personally, but I get the feeling that you _really_ don't like me."

"Your assistant has a low opinion of me, Larten," Mika remarked.

"She is young, Mika. She does not know her place."

"Don't apologize for her. The young _should_ speak their minds." He addressed me directly again. "You are right in one thing only, Lily Shan- I _don't_ think you have what it takes to be a vampire."

"Then my newest goal is to prove you wrong." I smiled.

"I sincerely hope you do. We need vampires in good standing, now more than ever. I will raise a glass of blood in your name if you complete the Trials, and willingly admit in public that I misjudged you."

I was a little confused. Was he bipolar? He was like hot and cold every few seconds. "I just might hold you to that. Otherwise... no hard feelings?"

He smiled tightly. "No hard feelings." He clapped his hands loudly and barked sharply, "May the gods bless you with the luck of the vampires!" And the Trials began.

_A.N.: Soooo... instead of using my free time (which currently consists of the other 12 hours of the day that I am not sleeping) to write, lately, I have been doing excessive excercise. You would not BELIEVE the muscle and stamina I have built up. I am so happy! (Yeah, I know. that had nothing to do with the story. but now you know what is taking me so long to update.)_


	25. Chapter 25 The Maze

**Disclaimer: Refer to all previous chapters.**

So, yeah... i kinda feed off reviews. :3

I was busy.

oOo

I was blindfolded, placed on a stretcher, and carried to the heart of the maze by four guards. Once inside, they set me down and removed the blindfold. I found myself in a narrow six foot high corridor. I could tell my size would work in my favor- the four guards had to stoop.

"Are you ready?" One of the guards asked.

"I'm ready," I glanced down the corridor and saw a whitish stone on the wall, and made a note of it. The first of many markers.

"You must stay here until the water pours," The guard said. "That's the signal for the start of the Trial. Nobody can check on you once we leave, so there's nothing to prevent you from cheating, apart from your conscience."

"I won't cheat." I said. I was annoyed that they might accuse me. "I'll wait for the water."

"I'm sure you will," He said quickly. "I had to say it anyway- tradition."

Together, they gathered up the stretcher and left. I coulden't hear them leave because of the soft shoes they were wearing. But I wasn't paying attention to that. I was listening for the water. My nerves were making me shake. Part of me wanted to run, make an early start. I ignored the voice. I would never be able to look Mr. Crepsley, Gavner, or the others in the eye if I cheated. I would want them to take me to the Hall of Death if I didn't die in the Maze.

Finally there was a sound of gurgling and water bubbled from a nearby pipe. I smirked to myself, and I scurried to the end of the corridor, as best as I could, dragging my rock behind me. I was lucky I weighed less than the normal vampire. I still had some growing to do.

I did well in the beginning, barely noticing the water, but soon that changed as the water raised above my knees, making each step forward an effort. The rock was easy to tug on the other hand. The water quickly tired me, making my legs and back ache. Vanez had warned me about this. I had to accept the water, not fight it. The mistakes many vampires made was to try and rush it. They exhausted themselves in the early and never got anywhere near the end. I was looking for the X painted door. Another couple of minutes passed and I started to get anxious.

The water was now up to my chest, and the rock was getting harder ot pull through the water. The rock became snagged as I turned a corner. I took a breath and dove under to see what the problem was. I found the rock jammed against a large crack in the wall. It took a few seconds to free and I came up with air to sprare.

But my mind was a blank. Had I been down this tunnel before? I couldn't see any familiar signs. I was lost. I remembered that I had taken a right and then a left at the last two forks, so if I was going in a circle, I should take a left and then a right, right? The water was up to my chin, and I was stumbling through the water in a panic.

Suddenlt, Vanez's advice came back to me. I stopped moving and focused on calming down. Refusing to move until I had myself together. I focused on what awaited me when I got out. Good food, a bottle of human blood. Gavner, Kurda and Harkat. And of course Mr. Crepsley. And every one of them believe I can do this.

I opened my eyes. I was sure that I could recognise a marker if I saw one. I continued down the corridor- no markers. The next was also new to me, and the next one after that. And the next. I started to get worried until I saw a candle sitting in a pale grey circular stone- one of my markers! I stared at the stone while my map started to reform. It came in sections at a time, then a sudden rush, and I remembered everything. The water was above my lower lip. I had to tilt my head to get air.

Concentrating on my map I started out again. I followed my map, finding the corridor I had taken before. I backtracked and hurried to the next turn, searching for that elusive X. The water was almost up to the ceiling now. I would run out of air soon. I was swimming now, and would have been doing just fine if not for that damned rock!

I realized it was time to make a cirtical decision. Vanez had discussed this with me in practice. If I continued as I was, I would die. I had less than two or three minutes of air left and would drown soon. I had to gamble.

I took several deep breaths. Focusing on breathing, now. stretching my lungs. I took one huge deep breath, and ducked underwater. I swam to the floor and pickd up the rock. I turned over and placed the rock on my belly, and swam. Water gushed up my nose. I tilted my head toward my chest and it helped. Vampires could hold their breaths longer than humans. But since I was blowing it out my nose, I'd have maybe two or three minutes before I drowned.

Another corner revealed a long corridor. I could make out a border wall at the end, but couldn't see well enough to see if it had an X on it. Halfway down the corridor and I could see that there was not one. Swam back. I searched in vain, but the next two corners led to more corridors, and not the wall. My oxygen was running out. My lungs burned for fresh air. The next corner didn't lead to the border wall either, but I didn't have time to swim ahead and keep searching. If this wasn't it. I was done.

I swam down the short corridor and took a right at the end. Another short corridor. As I started down it, the rock slipped off my belly. A sharp edge dug deep into my ribs as it fell. I yelped. Water flooded my mouth as bubbles escaped. I struggled to hold back the coughing as I swam to the ceiling, only to find that the water had already reached it. I was completely out of air. It was over. I was going to die.

_I'm not dead yet._

I couldn't see very well. The idea of dying alone in the dark wasn't very appealing. Despite the pain in my whole upper torso, I swam back down and grabbed the rock before continuing on to find somewhere brighter. Out of nowhere, a memory of a movie I had once watched as a human popped into my mind. It was one line from the movie _Donnie Darko._

_"She said: Every living creature on Earth dies alone."_

I hadn't meant to memorize it. But at the thought of dying alone, I suddenly found myself accessing reserves of energy that I didn't know I even had.

I made a left turn at the end of the corridor. Despite my newfound energy, my vision was blurring and darkening ever so slightly. I spotted the dark stone of border wall at the end. Yes. This was good. The lighting was much better here. I rolled over to be upright, and was about to drop the stone, until I really saw the end of the corridor. A huge, unmistakable, white X was painted against a dark background.

Mirage or not, I was happier than I'd ever felt before. I was out of air and starting to lose consciousness , but somehow I managed to make my way over to it in a very sluggish manner. My hand reached foreward as I got closer and closer.

_Just... a little... fur... th..._

At the time, I didn't know that I had touched the button, but a huge gushing roar brought a smile to my lips. I felt myself being carried out of the maze by the flow of water. Only when the water was gone, leaving me crumpled on the wet floor, did I finally breathe. It started with a sputtering cough, then I could take deep painful breaths. I was tired, and in my current state, decided that this was a great place to take a nap. In reality, I passed out.

Only seconds later, I awoke to the sound of cheers, and people screaming my name. I rolled over on to my stomach and struggled to push myself up.

_Every living creature dies alone? Not today I don't!_

"You did it, Lily!" Someone shouted, helping me upright before throwing their arms around me. Mr. Crepsely, in a rare display of affection.

"Did what?" I asked jokingly.

"She's delirious!" Someone behind him shouted. I recognized the voice to be Kurda's.

"Who would not be?" Mr. Creplsey replied, hugging me proudly.

"I think I'll take a nap now." I said into his shoulder. "Call me when it's time to go surfing, eh?" I dozed off to the sound of vampires yelling excitedly around me.

oOo

I was shivering like a drowned rat when I finally woke up fifteen hours later. Vanez was there to wish me good morning. He handed me a mug of some dark liquid and told me to drink.

"What am I drinking?" I asked, sniffing it. The smell was strong.

"Brandy." He said. I had never tried brandy before. Actually I had never tried any 'adult beverage' before. I didn't really want to either, but I didn't want to reject it in front to the Games Master. I took my first gulp, and almost coughed it back up. My mouth and throat warmed up almost immediately and after a few more gulps I decided that it wasn't too bad.

"Careful!" Vanez laughed as I poured it freely down my throat. "You'll get drunk."

I set aside the mug, grinning sheepishly. Then I remembered the Trial. "I did it!" I jumped up. "I found my way out of the Maze!"

"You certainly did." Vanez agreed. "It was close. You were in there just over twenty minutes. Did you have to swim towards the finish?"

"Yes." I said, before explaining what all had happened behind the walls. Afterwards Vanez led me to the Hall of Khledon Lurt to get something to eat. I was starving. The vampires there applauded when they saw me and crowded around me to tell me how well they though I had done. I couldn't help but turn bright red at all the sudden attention.

Harkat showed up while I was digging through my third bowl of bat broth. "I am... glad you... survived." He smiled.

"That makes two of us!" I laughed.

While we were talking, a rumor spread through the Hall. From what we picked up, one of the remaining vampires on his way to Council had arrived before dawn and had immediately rushed to the Hall of Princes to inform them of vampaneze tracks that he'd come across on the way.

"Maybe it's the same one we found." I noted, remembering the dead vampaneze.

"Maybe." Vanez muttered, but I could tell he didn't believe that. "I'll leave you for a while. Stay here, I won't be long."

When he returned, he looked troubled. "The vampire was Patrick Goulder." He said. "He came by an entirely different route, and the tracks were quite fresh. It's almost certain it was a different vampaneze. Two vampaneze on the paths to Vampire Mountain are hardly coincidence. That and Harkat's message, this doesn't look promising."

I started thinking about the vampaneze and Mr. Tiny's prophecy. I probably would had sat there all day thinking and worrying about it, but Vanez spoke up again.

"Still, we must concentrate on the Trials. We'll leave other business to those best equipped to deal with it."

But the rumor continued to float around the mountain, and my achievements of the night before were quickly forgotten. I was thankful that people were no longer cheering and applauding me when they saw me. No longer was anyone interested in the fate of one little female half-vampire, while the future of the entire clan was hanging in the balance.

Later when I went to pick my next Trial, I found myself having to wait before being called before the Princes. They were preoccupied, arguing with the generals about what the vampaneze were up to and what we should be doing about it. Kurda was there, standing up for his outcast friends.

"If they meant to attack us, they would have done so while we were in small numbers on the trails!" He shouted.

"Maybe they plan to attack us on the way back." Someone retorted.

"Why should they?" Kurda challanged him. "They've never attacked before. Why start now?"

"Maybe the Vampaneze Lord told them to." Murmurs of agreement echoed around the Hall.

"Nonsense!" Kurda snorted. "I don't believe those old legends. Even if they are true, Mr. Tiny said the night of his coming _was at hand_- not already upon us."

"Then what are they up to?" Someone shouted.

"It's possible," Kurda said. "that they came to see _me_."

Every vampire in the Hall stared at him.

"Why should they do that?" Paris asked.

"They are ym friends." He sighed. "I don't believe in the Vampaneze Lord myth. But many vampaneze do, and a lot are as troubled by it as we are- they don't want a war any more than we do. It's possible that Mr. Tiny sent word to the vampaneze as he did to us, and the pair found on the way were coming to warn me or discuss the situation."

"But Patrick Goulder couldn't find the second vampaneze." Mika Ver Leth said. "If he's still aline, wouldn't he have contacted you by now?

"How?" Kurda asked. "They can't just waltz up to the gates and ask for me by name. They'd be killed on the spot. If he's a messenger, he's probably waiting somewhere nearby, hoping to catch me when I leave.

This made sense to most vampires, but others dismissed it- thinking that the only way a vampaneze would go out of his way to help a vampire, would be if the vampaneze were insane.

Mr. Crepsley said little during the arguing. He only sat quietly, listening and thinking hard. He was so absorbed he hadn't even noticed my arrival.

During the lull, Vanez crept over to one of the guards and whispered to him. The guard then advanced to the platform and spoke in the remaining ear of Paris Skyle. Paris nodded, then clapped loudly. "We have been ignoring our duties, my friends," he said. "The news of the vampaneze is worrying, but there is a young half-vampire for whom time is precious. May we enjoy a few minutes of peace to deal with her more pressing concerns?"

When the vampires had quited down and settled into their pews, Vanez escorted me up to the platform.

"Congratulations on passing your first Trial, Lily." Paris said.

"Thank you." I smiled.

"As one who never learned to swim, I have extra reason to admire your narrow escape." said Arrow.

"You did well, young Shan." Mika agreed. Inside my head I was throwing a giant 'I-Told-You-So' themed party. "A good start is half the battle. There is a long way to go, but I am willing to accept that I might have been wrong about you."

"Are you ready to choose your next Trial?" Paris asked.

"I am."

The bag of numbered stones appeared. After they'd been checked, I reached in and grabbed a random stone.

"Number twenty-three!" The guard called out. "The Path of Needles."

"How hard is this one?" I whispered to Vanez.

"Easier than the Aquatic Maze." He said. "And your size will help."

Being only seventeen... eighteen? Being only a kid- to them at least- I was currently the shortest vampire in the whole mountain.

"It's as good as any we could have hoped for." Vanez added.

As we exited the Hall, the arguing kicked back to life.

oOo (doot dee doot dee doo... hmm... Gir says it more like: DooDeeDooDeeDoo! Hee hee! ...OH! Right, the story. Moving on...)

The Path of Needles was a long, narrow cavern filled with sharp-tipped stalagtites and stalagmites. Vanez let me see it before we went to practice in another cave.

"All I have to do is walk across?" I asked.

"That's all."

"There has to be something that makes it... dangerous." I noted.

"The stalagmites are slippery- one wrong move and you can impale yourself in the flicker of an eye. And many stalagtites are barely hanging and can fall at any time. And sudden noise can make them fall. If one hits you, it can slice you clean through."

"I figured something along those lines." I groaned.

We practiced in a cave where the stalagmites weren't as sharp or as slippery, and the stalagtites wouldn't fall without warning. Though, mild as this cave was, I came close to spearing myself several times, rescued only by the quick hands of Vanez Blane.

"You're not gripping hard enough!" He growled after I narrowly missed gouging my eye out. It sliced along my cheek, and Vanez was applying spit to the cut to stop the flow of blood.

It was like trying to grab a buttered pole, which was why he was telling me to grip harder. The problem was, everytime I gripped it, it would shred my hands.

"You're a half-vamire so your flesh will grow back quickly. You have to ignore the pain and focus on the grip. There will be plenty of time after the Trial to moan about your poor little fingers and how you'll never play the piano again."

"I never played piano." I replied, but continued, trying not to complain.

At the end of my session, he applied special herbs and leaves to my hands to ease the pain, and toughen my skin for what lay ahead. For a while my fingers were on fire, but after a while the pain faded, and by the time I had to return for my second bout of training, it was just a dull throb.

_A.N.: I have no idea why I made that comment during the transition. Good for you if you read it though._

_This is THE END of The Vampires Lovely Assistant._

_Know why? Because I don't like reading stories with a lot of chapters. So the next installment of this story will continue in a new story. HEY! Help me come up with a good title for it. (it will help it come out faster ;D)_


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